Update, 11:55 a.m., Nov. 28: Alaska State Troopers have identified the pilot involved in the Thanksgiving Day plane crash on Cook Inlet's west side as 55-year-old Brad Adams.
Adams suffered "serious but non-life threatening injuries," troopers reported.
The sole passenger on the plane, listed Friday as a PA-18 Super Cub owned by Nikiski-based Alaska West Air, was a male juvenile, troopers said. He reportedly was treated and released for minor injuries.
Original story:
Two people were injured in a small plane crash on the west side of Cook Inlet Thursday, according to Alaska State Troopers and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The crash occurred around noon while the plane was attempting to land across the Inlet from Nikiski, a community on the Kenai Peninsula, said NTSB Alaska office chief Clint Johnson.
Early investigation revealed that the plane may have experienced an engine problem, Johnson said.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer Friday morning identified the plane as a Piper PA-24 Comanche, and said the plane "experienced an engine failure and had to land near the mouth of the Kustatan River."
A helicopter was sent to retrieve the two people, one who suffered serious injuries and the other who had minor injuries, Johnson said.
They were taken to the Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, according to Brad Nelson, spokesman for Central Emergency Services.
NTSB continues to investigate the crash, Johnson said.