The pilot of the air ambulance that crashed outside Cooper Landing Friday and killed three has been identified. Glen Morthorpe was the director of operations for Security Aviation, which operated the Medevac Alaska flight that also killed registered nurse Rob Cartner and paramedic Maddox Burts.
Shortly after 7 p.m. the twin-engine Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed into the Kenai Mountains at about 1,450 feet near Mile 61 of the Sterling Highway and was witnessed by several motorists who contacted the Alaska State Troopers in Soldotna.
A helicopter from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center responded Friday night and located the crash site, but was unable to land due to weather and terrain. On Saturday afternoon the Troopers' Helo 3 attempted to reach the crash of the Piper Navajo Chieftain, but also was unable to land in the area. The Alaska Mountain Rescue Group organized a ground response that reached the crash site on Sunday.
The bodies of the three men were recovered from the site and will be transported to the State Medical Examiner in Anchorage for positive identification.
The plane had been on its way to Seward to pick up a patient from Providence Seward Medical Center. Providence declined to disclose the condition of the patient needing transport.
Weather may have played a factor in the crash. The Anchorage Daily News reported that LifeMed Alaska, another air ambulance company, had earlier turned down the flight to Seward.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the approximate time of the crash.