State lawmaker and local pilot among 7 killed in midair collision over Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula Zaz Hollander and James Brooks
Updated: 11 hours ago calendar Published 19 hours ago
An Alaska state legislator is among seven dead after two aircraft collided in midair Friday morning near Soldotna’s airport on the Kenai Peninsula, a crash witnessed by numerous people on the ground.
One of the aircraft involved in the crash was a single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency originally described the other plane as a twin-engine Piper Aztec but by Friday afternoon had confirmed it was a Piper PA-12.
The Beaver carried six people, Alaska State Troopers said: 57-year-old pilot Gregory Bell, of Soldotna; 40-year-old guide David Rogers, of Kansas; and South Carolina residents Caleb Hulsey, 26, Heather Hulsey, 25, Mackay Hulsey, 24, and Kirstin Wright, 23.
Rep. Gary Knopp, a 67-year-old Kenai resident who served in the Alaska Legislature, was the only person in the other plane, troopers said. ...
Full story at Anchorage Daily NewsKnopp was a Republican.