A plane crashed at a secluded military site in western Alaska, resulting in the tragic deaths of all eight individuals on board. According to authorities on Friday, the aircraft was attempting its second landing in dense fog when communication was lost. Clint Johnson, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)’s Alaska region chief, revealed during a virtual press briefing that the Cessna’s pilots had no visual contact with the gravel airstrip and were relying solely on instruments at the time of the crash on Thursday.
Due to poor visibility, regulations mandated the pilots to abort their initial landing approach. Subsequently, the plane went down on its second attempt, approximately 500 meters away from the runway. The airstrip is surrounded by mountainous terrain on three sides, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advises pilots to utilize GPS and other instruments while landing in such conditions.
Among the passengers were the two pilots, two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees, and four contractors. Notably, two of the contractors worked for Calista Brice, a group of companies specializing in construction, engineering, logistics, and other services in remote regions. Calista Brice operates under Calista Corp., an Alaska Native regional corporation.
The specific nature of the work being conducted at the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site, located around 725 kilometers west of Anchorage on Alaska’s southwest coast, has not been disclosed by the military.
NTSB investigators were en route to the crash site on Friday. Established in the 1950s as part of a network for early warning against potential missile threats from the Soviet Union, the radar site now monitors airspace in the direction of Russia, North Korea, and China.
U.S. Air Force Lt.-Gen. Robert Davis, leading Alaskan Command, expressed sorrow over the loss of the individuals on board, noting that they were dedicated professionals fulfilling a crucial mission in a challenging environment.
Weather conditions on Thursday were turbulent, with heavy fog enveloping the area. A nearby automated observation system recorded low cloud cover, fog, and visibility of approximately 16 kilometers just before the crash. However, a subsequent update post-crash indicated a significant drop in visibility to less than 400 meters, as stated by Carrie Haisley, the meteorologist managing the U.S. National Weather Service’s Alaska sector operations center.
Former FAA official Mike O’Donnell suggested that the severe weather conditions might have warranted the pilots to divert to an alternate landing location. The airstrip is situated within a private military site overseen by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center, which forms part of a network of remote radar facilities monitoring aircraft movements in Alaskan airspace and along its borders.
Initially closed in 1983 following the installation of a new radar system, the Cape Newenham outpost is now sporadically visited by civilian contractors responsible for system maintenance. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that the deceased employees were part of a project team supporting a U.S. Air Force initiative, although specific project details were not disclosed.
The flight was operated by Security Aviation, a company based in Anchorage, as mentioned by Johnson. Requests for comments from the charter company regarding the incident were unanswered at the time.
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