Lisa Murkowski said after the Alaska plane crash that she has traveled extensively with Security Aviation in the past. The crash near Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport in Western Alaska killed all eight people aboard the charter aircraft on Thursday.
The aircraft was a twin-engine Cessna chartered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fly from Anchorage to Cape Newenham, according to Clint Johnson, the Alaska chief with the National Transportation Safety Board. Two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees were among the eight killed.
Cape Newenham radar site
The plane went down near the Cape Newenham Airport, an Air Force airstrip that provides access to the Long Range Radar Station. Cape Newenham is about 450 miles west of Anchorage and about 40 miles south of Goodnews Bay, placing the crash in a remote stretch of Western Alaska where response crews had to reach the site rather than a nearby road network.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened a search and rescue mission on Thursday after a Federal Aviation Administration alert notification. The NTSB, Alaska State Troopers, and the Rescue Coordination Center were responding to the site, and search and rescue forces were on scene as the incident remained under investigation.
Army Corps response
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said next of kin had been notified and that it was coordinating with local, state, and federal authorities. Robert Davis said, “This is a devastating loss for our military family and the communities we serve.”
Nick Begich said he and his wife Dharna joined Alaskans across the state in praying for everyone affected and the entire Security Aviation family. Murkowski said, “Alaska is praying for those on board, their loved ones, and the team at Security Aviation.”
The fatal flight left the Corps, Security Aviation, and federal investigators with the immediate task of sorting out what caused the twin-engine Cessna to go down near the radar site.
