A small plane carrying multiple people crashed on a remote cape in Southwest Alaska on Thursday. As of the evening of Aug. 20, it was still not clear whether any of the occupants survived.
According to National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Clint Johnson, the plane had been chartered from Anchorage to Cape Newenham, roughly 25 miles south of Platinum.
Johnson said the NTSB is working closely with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, Alaska State Troopers, and U.S. Coast Guard for updates on the rescue effort.
“We don’t know where we are as far as fatalities, injuries, any of the occupants,” Johnson said on Thursday evening. He did not confirm the number of people on board the flight.
Johnson said the NTSB is preparing its own investigation.
“We are launching a team to Cape Newenham. They’re gonna be coming up from Seattle, joined by some of our investigators here in Anchorage as well and headed to the site probably in the next couple of days, weather permitting,” Johnson said.
A statement from the Alaskan NORAD Region, Alaskan Command, and11th Air Force said the crash occurred near the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site.
A spokesperson for the Alaskan NORAD Region declined to comment, and said more details would be available Friday.
This is a developing story.
KNOM’s Ben Townsend contributed to this reporting.
