Alaska midair - National Post

Alaska midair plane collision kills seven, including state lawmaker piloting one aircraft

State Rep. Gary Knopp was alone in one of the planes. The other plane was carrying four tourists from South Carolina, a guide from Kansas and a local pilot

de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver © Krzysztof Marek Wlodarczyk CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35491858. The featured image does not represent the actual plane which had the accident.

Author of the article:

Reuters

Yereth Rosen

Publishing date:

Aug 01, 2020  •  Last Updated 1 day ago  •  1 minute read

A plane rests in brush and trees after a midair collision outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 31, 2020. JEFF HELMINIAK/PENINSULA CLARION VIA AP

ANCHORAGE — A midair plane collision in Anchorage on Friday killed seven people, including a state lawmaker who was piloting one of the aircraft, Alaska officials said.

There were no survivors of the crash near the airport in Soldotna, a city on the Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska State Troopers said in a written statement.

State Rep. Gary Knopp, who represented the area, was alone in one of the planes. The other plane was carrying four tourists from South Carolina, a guide from Kansas and a pilot from Soldotna, the troopers said.

All seven victims were pronounced dead at the site except for one person who died while being transported to a hospital, according to the troopers.

Crash debris fell on a highway, which was shut down briefly out of safety concerns.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified one of the planes as a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.