2 Alaskans among 4 killed in plane crash near St. Mary’s

Alaska State Troopers on Tuesday released the names of the four people who died when a Yute Commuter Service plane crashed Sunday night near the airport in St. Mary’s.

Pilot Scott Grillion of Chugiak, 44-year-old Benjamin Sweeney of Sterling, 23-year-old Mario Gioiello of Ohio and 25-year-old Caleb Swortzel of South Carolina died in the crash, troopers said. Grillion, 34, worked for Yute Commuter Service and was off duty during the crash, Clint Johnson, Alaska chief of the National Transportation Safety Board, has said.

The others aboard the Cessna 207 included a Yute employee, a former employee and a person on a personal trip, according to a statement from the company’s managers.

The group was going moose hunting in Southwest Alaska and left Bethel on the flight to St. Mary’s around 8:30 or 9 p.m. Sunday, Johnson said. Grillion had received permission for Visual Flight Rules clearance that allowed him to land in deteriorating weather conditions, Johnson has said.

The plane crashed about a half mile from the St. Mary’s runway just after 10 p.m., he said.

Troopers said they were contacted by the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center about an overdue aircraft near St. Mary’s around 11:15 p.m. Responding troopers went to the plane’s last known location and found the wreckage, they said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.