A 2021 investigation found that since 2016, 42% of U.S. deaths from small aircraft crashes occurred in Alaska.
View of Misty Fjords National Monument from a floatplane. There have been several fatal plane crashes in the area, including a 2015 crash that killed eight cruise-ship passengers and the pilot, a midair collision in 2019 that killed six people and a 2021 crash that also killed six people. A 2021 investigationfound that since 2016, 42% of U.S. deaths from small aircraft crashes occurred in Alaska, up from 26% in the early 2000s.
High-profile Alaskans aren’t immune; many political figures and their loved ones have died in crashes. In 1972, a small plane carrying then-Congressman Nick Begich, then-U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, a staffer and a pilot disappeared in the Portage area. In 2010, Alaska’s longest-serving U.S. senator, Ted Stevens, was among five people killed when a floatplaneIn 2020, state Rep. Gary Knopp was among the“Some of these crashes are like markers in our history,” Wohlforth said. “I mean, you think about the Begich-Boggs crash, which really changed the course of history. … You know, the Ted Stevens crash, again, a hugely impactful event.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Longtime Alaska writer reflects on Alaska's history of aviation fatalities“It’s something we really can’t get used to, shouldn’t get used to,” said Charles Wohlforth.
Read more »
Brundidge woman sentenced in 2021 arsonWiggins is the second person sentenced for setting fire to an auto sales business in Coffee County.
Read more »
CDC: Infant death rate rose in 2021 after 5-year declineThe rate of infants dying before their first birthday rose slightly in the second year of the COVID pandemic after having fallen every year since 2015, according to new federal data.
Read more »
Most Philly-area nonprofit health system CEOs made more than $1 million in 2021Top pay went to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia CEO Madeline Bell, thanks to a $5.6 million bonus.
Read more »
Fogarty Winery celebrates 40th anniversary two years lateMarking the occasion with 2021 releases.
Read more »