Focus at Russian Mission crash sites shifts to recovering remains

Crews returned Friday to the crash sites of two planes that collided in midair Wednesday in hopes of recovering the remains of the five men killed in the crash.

A Hageland Aviation Cessna 208 Caravan and Piper PA-18 Super Cub operated by Renfro's Alaskan Adventures collided in clear skies at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, roughly 6 miles northwest of Russian Mission.

[Investigators reach crash site of one of planes in Russian Mission midair collision]

The Caravan was flying from Russian Mission to Marshall, while the Super Cub was headed from Bethel to a hunting camp.

Caravan pilot Harry Wrase, 48, Caravan passengers Steven Paul Andrew, 32, and Aaron Jay Minock, 21, Super Cub pilot Zach Babat, 44, and Super Cub passenger Jeff Burruss, 40, were all killed in the crash. There were no survivors.

Michael "Wade" Renfro, owner of the business sharing the name, said in a statement that two PA-18 Super Cubs departed Bethel Wednesday morning to drop off guides and gear at two sites north of town.

Employees following the flights obtained the most recent GPS coordinates from one of the aircraft's tracking devices when Renfro realized it hadn't arrived at its intended location. Wade Renfro said those coordinates were sent to him because he'd been piloting the second company aircraft.

According to the statement, "Wade flew directly to the GPS coordinates where he discovered the Renfro's aircraft had crashed and relayed this information back to base who then made the appropriate notifications and requested immediate medical assistance."

It was discovered shortly afterward that there was possibly another plane involved in the wreck. Renfro discovered the wreckage of a second plane and communicated its location to authorities, he said.

Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters said three troopers and four volunteers with Bethel Search and Rescue traveled to the crash sites Friday. Troopers released initial images of the scene Thursday.

"The area is thick with alders and on a steep incline," Peters wrote. "They can't land on site. They have to hike and bushwhack their way to the site. They also need to clear an area for a helo to access so they can get remains removed from the sites after they are removed from the aircraft."

Clint Johnson, the lead National Transportation Safety Board investigator in Alaska, said Friday initial investigative work on both planes had been completed by Thursday evening.

A ground team from the NTSB and Alaska State Troopers had to hike about a quarter of a mile Thursday between the two crash sites, Johnson said, because one of the downed planes couldn't be reached by helicopter.

"The folks had another long day out there yesterday — they were out until 9 o'clock last night," Johnson said. "They were able to finish up the (Cessna) 208 and start and finish the PA-18 yesterday evening."

Among the investigators' initial findings, Johnson said, was that the PA-18 did not have an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast transmitter installed. The Cessna 208 carried an ADS-B display that shows other nearby aircraft — but only if they're also equipped with ADS-B transmitters.

Although the FAA is requiring all aircraft flying in many areas of U.S. airspace to be fitted with ADS-B transmitters by 2020, Johnson said the site of Wednesday's collision was exempt from those requirements.

"That wouldn't apply where this accident took place," Johnson said. "This was uncontrolled airspace."

Bethel's Myron Angstman, a lawyer and a pilot who has represented Renfro's owner Michael "Wade" Renfro in the past, said Friday that clear days can pose their own dangers to a pilot.

"Sunlight is not always your friend," Angstman said. "Even if you are not looking into the sun, bright clear days cause a certain level of — glare, I think is the word … that can affect your ability to see things that are not right in the sun, that are off to the front of you and off to the side of you."

Angstman said his plane is equipped with the older Capstone system, an Alaska-based prototype of ADS-B not fully compatible with newer versions that allows him to see other Capstone-equipped planes on a screen.

Still, in the busy airspace around Bethel, Angstman says if he spots 10 planes, he wonders whether there are 10 more.

Johnson said the NTSB's preliminary report on the collision was likely to be released next week.

Lisa Demer contributed information to this story.