ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, a political icon who helped steer Alaska from its frontier territorial days to its modern present, was among five people killed in the crash of a lodge floatplane near Dillingham on Monday.
Four people survived the crash into a steep, remote hillside 17 miles north of Dillingham, and at least three were flown to an Anchorage hospital in a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft. The bodies of Stevens, 86, and the other victims were still at the site. Extrication tools were being flown there Tuesday afternoon.
Among the survivors were former NASA chief Sean O’Keefe and his son, Kevin.
Besides Stevens, Alaska state troopers identified the victims as Dana Tindall, 48, of Anchorage, a senior vice president for the Alaska telecommunications company GCI; Tindall’s daughter Corey, 16; Washington, D.C., lobbyist Bill Phillips, a former Stevens chief of staff; and the pilot, Terry Smith, 62, of Eagle River.
The other survivors were Phillips’ son Willy, 13, and lobbyist Jim Morhard of Alexandria, Va.
The plane, a vintage, single-engine de Havilland Otter, was reported missing about 7 p.m. Monday, roughly five hours after it took off for a fishing site. The plane was owned by the Alaska telecommunications company GCI, which also owns a guest lodge near Lake Aleknagik on the Agulowak River. Stevens and the other passengers were the guests of GCI.
Poor weather hampered rescue efforts. The wreckage was discovered about 7:30 p.m. Monday by a local pilot searching for the Otter, but fog soon covered the area. Local residents flown to a nearby ledge by a commercial helicopter pilot got to the site in time to provide some aid and comfort to the victims and communicate the situation to state officials, but National Guard and Coast Guard air rescue crews sent to the area were unable to approach the crash site until about 7 a.m. Tuesday.
At a news conference in Anchorage, Maj. Gen. Tom Katkus, the Alaska National Guard commander, said the plane didn’t send an automatic locator signal when it crashed. He said it was too early to suggest a cause for the crash.
Political figures killed in air crashes
There have been other prominent political figures killed in airplane crashes during the past three decades.
Oct. 25, 2002 — U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash along with his wife, his daughter and five others near Eveleth, Minn.
Oct. 16, 2000 — Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, his son and an aide were killed when their small plane crashed in bad weather in Missouri.
April 3, 1996 — An Air Force jet carrying U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and other civilians crashed into a mountain in Croatia, killing all 35 people aboard.
April 19, 1993 — South Dakota Gov. George Mickelson was killed along with seven others when their state-owned plane crashed in a rainstorm in Iowa.
April 5, 1991 — Former U.S. Sen. John Tower of Texas and NASA astronaut Manley “Sonny” Carter Jr. were among those killed in the crash of an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight near Brunswick, Ga.
April 4, 1991 — U.S. Sen. John Heinz, R-Pa., was killed when his plane collided with a helicopter over Merion, Pa.
Aug. 13, 1989 — U.S. Rep. Larkin Smith, R-Miss., was killed along with his pilot when their Cessna 177 crashed in Mississippi.
Aug. 7, 1989 — U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, a Texas Democrat, was killed when a plane crashed during a trip to inspect relief efforts in Ethiopia.
Sept. 1, 1983 — U.S. Rep. Larry McDonald, D-Ga., was killed when Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by a Russian fighter. The Associated Press
