Three men were injured Saturday when a private plane crashed about 30 miles west of Anchorage, an official from the National Transportation Safety Board said.
The Piper PA14 left the Merrill Field Airport and landed in a remote area near where Olson Creek runs into Beluga River on the west side of Cook Inlet, said Clint Johnson, chief of the NTSB Alaska office. The area is popular for fishing, he said.
The plane crashed during departure, Johnson said. Troopers received a call for help from a satellite communications device just after 9 p.m., according to an online statement.
One man was in critical condition Saturday but had stabilized by Sunday, Johnson said. The two other men sustained minor injuries, according to Johnson.
An Alaska Air National Guard team responded to the crash site on Saturday and transported one person to Providence Alaska Medical Center, a statement from the National Guard said. LifeMed Alaska medevaced two others to the hospital, the National Guard wrote.
The plane was owned by Angel Aviation Alaska, which operates a flight school out of Merrill Field Airport, Johnson said. The company was involved in another crash last month in the Chugach State Park that killed 23-year-old Dakota Bauder and 27-year-old McKenna Vierra.
The plane that crashed Saturday was not on an instructional flight or a charter, Johnson said. One of the company owner’s family members was using the plane for a personal flight, Johnson said.
The NTSB was notified of the crash by the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center around 10 p.m. Saturday, he said. The plane was in the water and had been released for recovery efforts by Sunday, Johnson said.
It was not immediately clear what may have caused the crash. Johnson said an investigation is ongoing.