Two men from Port Alsworth died Friday when a small plane crashed into a lake near Nondalton, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said Monday that pilot Dave Hedgers, 58, and passenger Aaron Fryar, 45, died when the Taylorcraft BC-12D crashed into Six Mile Lake near Nondalton, about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage.
According to McDaniel, the plane left Port Alsworth at 11:30 a.m. Friday, on a private flight. Hedgers and Fryar planned to travel about 30 miles south and land in Pedro Bay about an hour later. But they never arrived. Troopers first learned of the crash at about 9:30 p.m. that evening.
“The troopers received a thirdhand report via 911 from somebody whose family member was flying in the area that saw the wreckage,” McDaniel said.
The pilot of the floatplane that spotted the crash was able to land on the lake, McDaniel said, with members of Port Alsworth Search and Rescue also responding by boat. Divers found Hedgers’ and Fryar’s bodies in the plane, which was upside-down in the water.
According to an online trooper dispatch, Hedger’s and Fryar’s bodies were sent to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. Their families have been notified.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
