Two men were killed when the plane they were in crashed Friday on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska State Troopers said.
The pilot, 70-year-old Danny Presley of Happy Valley, and the sole passenger, 58-year-old Keith Presley of Ninilchik, were found dead after their single-engine Champion 7GCBC plane crashed near Tustumena Lake, troopers said in an online statement. Troopers had been notified just before 11:30 a.m. Friday that a team from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center had been dispatched to the crash site.
Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska chief, said the plane crashed roughly 20 miles east of Ninilchik, about a mile south of Tustumena Lake. He described the surrounding terrain as rolling hills with sparse trees.
The bodies of both men were taken to the State Medical Examiner Office, and their family has been notified, troopers said. Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said a good Samaritan aircraft reported the crashed plane.
The NTSB was notified and is investigating the cause of the crash. Johnson, who had returned from the crash site Friday evening, said the agency did not have much additional information but has documented the scene of the crash and will next turn to wreckage recovery.
The flight’s origin and destination are not known at this time, Johnson said, nor is its purpose in the area.