ANCHORAGE, Alaska _ Federal investigators planned Thursday to revisit the site of Wednesday's deadly midair collision near the Western Alaska village of Russian Mission, which claimed the lives of five men and left the wreckage of two small planes in rugged terrain.
A Hageland Aviation Cessna 208 Caravan flying from Russian Mission to Marshall collided with a Piper PA-18 Super Cub operated by Renfro's Alaskan Adventures headed from Bethel, according to the Alaska Air National Guard. The crash, about 6 miles northwest of Russian Mission, occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Alaska State Troopers identified the victims Wednesday night. The Caravan was flown by Wasilla pilot Harry Wrase, 48, and carried passengers Steven Paul Andrew, 32, of Russian Mission and Aaron Jay Minock, 21, of Russian Mission. The Super Cub was flown by Montana resident Zach Justin Babat, 44, and carried Haines passenger Jeff Thomas Burruss, 40.
Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska chief, said Thursday that three NTSB investigators were working on the crash. Two Federal Aviation Administration investigators were also on site Wednesday, according to FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer.
Crews were only able to reach the Cessna's crash site Wednesday evening, Johnson said. Both NTSB investigators and troopers were in Bethel on Thursday morning, waiting for weather to clear before making an attempt to reach both planes.
"The conditions where this thing is are very challenging _ high alders, steep mountainous terrain only accessible by helicopter," Johnson said. "These guys have their work cut out for them."
State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said the troopers who responded to Russian Mission on Wednesday were likely to be involved with the recovery of bodies from the crashed aircraft, a task that was continuing Thursday.
Johnson said the Cessna operated by Hageland was equipped with map displays for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, which lets pilots see the locations of other nearby aircraft on a screen similar to those used by air traffic controllers. Washington, D.C.-based investigators were working to determine whether the PA-18 operated by Renfro's was also equipped with ADS-B.
ADS-B transmitters will be required for flight in many areas of U.S. airspace by 2020. Johnson said the technology is "widespread" in Alaska, but only displays the location of other ADS-B aircraft.
"Both aircraft has to be ADS-B equipped, so if one has it and the other doesn't, the one that has it won't see the other aircraft," Johnson said.
Hageland Aviation operator Ravn Alaska wasn't immediately able to answer questions Thursday morning. Calls to Renfro's weren't answered Thursday morning.
The NTSB is preparing for an extended investigation of the wreckage, due to the difficult terrain and the two separate crash sites involved.
"Realistically, our guys will probably be out there through the weekend," Johnson said.
