Two men are presumed dead after their small plane crashed Tuesday into Crescent Lake on the Kenai Peninsula, authorities say.
Troopers identified the men as 41-year-old Paul Kondrat of Utah and 46-year-old Mark Sletten of Anchorage.
Two hikers reported the crash near Moose Pass around 2 p.m., according to an online trooper dispatch.
A search team, including a helicopter and floatplane, responded to the area, but there were “no signs of survivors in the water or on the shore,” troopers said. The search continued Wednesday afternoon.
“Military aircraft are assisting, getting some specialized resources up there to begin searching the lake area a little bit more thoroughly today,” Troopers Spokesman Austin McDaniel said.
According to troopers, the Piper PA-18 Super Cub was reported overdue with two men on board.
McDaniel said the plane took off from and was scheduled to return to the small community of Moose Pass, about 30 miles north of Seward.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the accident, and the NTSB’s Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said the investigation is ongoing.
“There were a couple of witnesses at Crescent Lake that saw the airplane descend into the water in the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, that wreckage has since sunk,” Johnson said. “Right now, Alaska State Troopers and a number of military assets are in the process of getting a plan together to recover that airplane.”
Tim Rockey is the producer of Alaska News Nightly and covers education for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at trockey@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8487. Read more about Tim here.
