Pilot walks away from Settlers Bay plane crash

KNIK-FAIRVIEW — A man walked away uninjured from a totaled plane in some horsefly-plagued woods Friday afternoon, authorities said.

The pilot, whom troopers identified as Mark Binggeli, 44, of Wasilla, told Alaska Wildlife Troopers on-scene that he had left from a local airstrip, lost power, and the plane went down.

Binggeli had visible scratches on his face, but appeared uninjured when he spoke with wildlife troopers about 2:30 p.m., July 3 after firefighters and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene near Settlers Bay Golf Course.

The crash was reported about 1:30 p.m., but required all-terrain vehicles to access directly. It was located near the Settlers Bay Golf Course in Wasilla, at the end of Settlers Bay Drive, off of a private gated road.

LifeMed air ambulance was paged out to the scene, but was waved off after paramedics determined Binggeli was OK, authorities said.

The investigation has been turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.