At least four dead after plane crash near Denali

DENALI — Four people have been confirmed dead and another is presumed deceased after efforts by multiple agencies to locate and recover bodies from a plane that crashed near Denali on Saturday night were conducted Monday morning.

The K2 Aviation flightseeing flight with four Polish passengers on board, piloted by Craig Layson, took off from Talkeetna around 5 p.m. on Saturday. The plane with wing number N323KT crashed in a crevasse near Thunder Mountain, about 14 miles southwest of the summit of Denali at approximately 6 p.m. Layson called K2 on a satellite phone just after the crash, and again at 7 p.m. Four fixed wing aircraft from K2 and one National Parks Service high elevation helicopter attempted to locate the plane, but were unable on Saturday night due to zero visibility and weather concerns. Aircraft from the Army, the Air National Guard, and National Parks Service continued the search Saturday and Sunday, and National Parks Service Ranger Chris Erickson contacted the downed aircraft at nearly 11,000 feet.

“The de Havilland Beaver (DHC-2), operated by K2 Aviation, took off from Talkeetna at 5:06 p.m. for a flightseeing tour around the Kahiltna Glacier. Sunday, flight crews with the Air National Guard patrolled the area in a C-130 and two HH-60 helicopters conducted aerial overflights of the accident zone, but search conditions were hampered by zero visibility and low cloud cover,” a statement issued by the National Parks Service read.

This was the first time in 15 years that there were zero fatalities during the mountaineering season, which spans from mid April to mid July. A total of 1,189 climbers attempted Denali in 2017 and 498 of them reached the summit, according to National Parks Service Spokeswoman Katherine Belcher. Belcher said that during the peak of the flightseeing season in the summer, some 70 flights a day will depart for tours around Denali.

“An NPS ranger was short-hauled to the crash site (suspended beneath the helicopter) where he dug through the snow that had filled the aircraft and found the bodies of four of the five passengers,” stated the NPS release.

Due to the short timetable in which Erickson could gather information at the crash site, it is uncertain if the fifth person is still in the plane, though he could be, according to Belcher. The short-haul method that suspends one Ranger from a helicopter will likely not be used in the retrieval of the deceased passengers and plane.

“Probably not the short haul, that’s for more immediate in and out. It’s really hard to maintain that short haul, especially with somebody on the helicopter,” said Belcher.

Members of the Alaska Air National Guard 210th, 211th and 212th squadrons were deployed to try and locate the wreckage. The 210th uses helicopters, the 211th uses the C-130 and the 212th are the pararescuers who get on the ground and render aid if necessary.

“They do the hands on rescue work. All three were involved in the operation. We’ve been involved with those rescues so that’s a pretty common mission that we have especially this time of year,” Air National Guard Spokesman David Bedard.

The plane is located in a crevasse on Thunder Mountain, which is unstable and susceptible to frequent rock fall and avalanches. Since the time of the crash, the wreckage has been dusted, but not covered with snow.

“When weather permits, a four-member ground crew will stage near the base of Thunder Mountain to provide weather observations and assist in the event of a short-haul or military hoist rescue. A ground ascent of Thunder Mountain is not considered an option due to significant rockfall and unstable snow and cornice conditions at this time of the year,” the NPS release stated.

Rescue efforts are ongoing and this is a developing story.

“I work here at the ranger station I’m a member of the Talkeetna community as well, and I think that the impact on our town is more than the impact on the ranger station here. It’s sad,” Erickson said in an interview broadcast by the Anchorage Daily News.