The fuselage and bodies of two occupants of the plane that crashed into Crescent Lake on Monday have been recovered, says the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
The bodies of 41-year-old Paul Kondrat of Utah and 46-year-old Anchorage resident Col. Mark “Tyson” Sletten were pulled from the floor of the lake on Thursday. The Air Force identified Sletten as the Director of Operations for Alaska Command.
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that the two men aboard the small aircraft were on an instructional flight when the plane went down.
According to the Alaska State Trooper dispatch website, a team of searchers “located the missing SuperCub in approximately 193’ of water while searching an area of interest identified on June 19 with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).”
Earlier in the day on Thursday, the Alaska Army National Guard had transported a search team of Alaska Air National Guard personnel and professional volunteers from the Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team to Crescent Lake to continue the search. With the use of divers and a ROV, the crew was able to float the plane and tow it to shore.
On Monday, two eyewitness hikers notified Alaska Wildlife Troopers that they had seen a plane crash at Crescent Lake near Moose Pass just after 2:00 p.m. A US Fish and Wildlife Service float plane and a DPS HELO 3 responded to the area and located debris in the lake but could not locate the Piper PA-18 SuperCub or its occupants.
On Thursday, both Kondrat and Sletten were found inside of the plane deceased. Their bodies were transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.
Next of kin have been notified. The NTSB will determine the cause of the plane crash.