At about 8 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time Monday, a single-engine, turboprop-converted De Havilland Otter crashed near Dillingham, Alaska. Five of nine onboard died, including former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, 86. Among the survivors was ex-NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, 54, and his teenage son Kevin. Both spent the night at the crash site aided by Good Samaritan rescuers. They were airlifted to a hospital in Anchorage with broken bones, but not life-threatening injuries.
The approximately 288-nautical-mile flight originated in Anchorage and was headed for a fishing lodge near Dillingham. The bright red Otter is registered to GCI, a communications company headquartered in Anchorage (certificate issued in 2005). Stevens and O’Keefe were reportedly regular fishing partners, and a family friend said the former senator had been planning a fishing trip with friends and former staff members. O’Keefe’s son was also on board.
