TRAPPER CREEK, Alaska - Two single-engine float planes collided as they flew near an Alaska lake, and one of them crashed and burned, killing the family of four aboard, authorities said. The second plane landed safely despite significant damage.
The Cessna 180 was registered to Corey Carlson, a 41-year-old private pilot, who died with his wife, Hetty 39, and their two young children, said Mark Mazur, who worked with Corey Carlson at GE Drilling Systems, an oilfield services company.
The plane crashed Saturday at Amber Lake near Trapper Creek, 80 miles north of Anchorage. The accident occurred nearly three weeks after another in-flight collision that, remarkably, left the 13 people aboard the two aircraft unhurt.
The second plane in Saturday’s crash, a Cessna 206, sustained significant damage but was able to return to Anchorage International Airport and make an emergency landing.
Pilot Kevin Earp, 56, of Eagle River, was alone in the aircraft and uninjured, said Megan Peters, a spokesman for the State Police.
There was no word on how the collision occurred.
On July 10, nine people aboard a Piper Navajo and four people in a Cessna 206 were uninjured when the planes collided.
Both aircraft had minor damage but landed safely in Anchorage, with FAA spokesman Mike Fergus describing the incident as “almost unheard of.’’
Waiting for Twitter to feed in the latest...