A small plane crashed in Atigun Pass, near Mile 243.5 of the Dalton Highway, on the afternoon of Sunday, August 24.
Chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska Regional Office Clint Johnson said the crash was reported from the FAA who was informed by employees of Alyeska Pipeline who reportedly witnessed the accident.
Johnson: “What we’ve been able to determine at this point right now, the type of aircraft is a Navion, it’s registered to an owner in Fairbanks, and it had three passengers on board and one pilot. At this point right now the injuries are anywhere from serious to critical at this point right now.”
Johnson said at this time there is no information on a possible cause, what shape the plane was in, or instruments the pilot may have been using.
Johnson: “We have started the investigation that is definitely correct, we’re in the process of working right now with the Fairbanks FSDO which is the Flight Standards District Office, it’s a FAA office, they have launched two investigators from Fairbanks, headed to the accident sight, they’re going to do the initial on-scene investigation for us and what our efforts are going to be centered in on are actually talking to the pilot, once his injuries allow us to be able to talk to him, realistically that’s going to be a couple of days.”
The plane was operated by Kirst Aviation out of Fairbanks.