Alaska
Weekend Crashes Kill Seven In Alaska
A homebuilder on the maiden flight of his aircraft was one of seven people killed in three separate crashes in Alaska in the last three days. Jon Bergstedt, 71, of Anchorage had just taken off from Anderson Lake Strip Airport in Wasilla on Saturday and his aircraft, described as resembling a Piper Super Cruiser, crashed on a road. Meanwhile, crashes on Friday and Sunday claimed six people.
On Friday, two people were killed in the crash of a Citabria near Tustemena Lake on the Kenai Peninsula and on Sunday a Yute Commuter Service Cessna 207 went down near St. Mary’s. The aircraft carried employees of the airline but it was described as a personal flight. Those onboard were going moose hunting. The plane crashed about a half mile from the airport at St. Mary’s. The pilot got a special VFR clearance just before the crash.