An Alaska State Trooper helicopter carrying a trooper, a pilot for the agency and a rescued snowmobiler crashed in the south-central part of the state, leaving all three aboard feared dead a spokesman said Sunday night, as reported by the Associated Press. The trooper helicopter was on a mission to pick up a snowmobiler stranded near Larson Lake 7 miles east of Talkeetna in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the AP also reported.
Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said the aircraft went down on Saturday night, as wreckage was spotted by a guard helicopter at 9:20 a.m. on Sunday and landed.
"This is a huge, profound tragedy for us. We can replace the helicopter but we can't replace what went down with it," Peters said. "It's been a bad day.
Wreckage of the helicopter burned but Peters said it was not known how the fire started or for how long it lasted. The helicopter picked up a trooper and began a search, spotting the snowmobile and landing just before 10 p.m. It took off with the snowmobiler and was supposed to meet medics near Talkeetna. It did not arrive, spokesmen said.
It has not yet be determined if weather was a factor in the crash, Peters said, as the National Safety Board continues to investigate all possibilities.
Talkeetna is a community of nearly 900, 80 miles north of Anchorag. It is the primary depature point for air taxis taking climbers to Mount McKinley, the AP reported.
Mourners of the crash are pouring in, including one comment from the Huffington Post, which read, "They always dread discussing this kind of scenario... Takes a certain kind of person to do what these men and women do. Rest in Peace Trooper."
