Former Bethel mayor among four killed in Alaska plane crash
Former Bethel mayor Eric Middlebrook, 68, was among four people killed when a Piper PA-24 crashed into the Seldovia Slough in Alaska on Wednesday afternoon, 26 August.
Middlebrook, of Anchorage, was piloting the aircraft from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage to Seldovia, a remote coastal community about 135 miles (217 kilometres) south-west of Anchorage, when it went down. The plane became submerged in roughly 15 feet (4.6 metres) of water.
Alaska State Troopers identified the other victims as Ronald Schmidt, 65, Lance Schmidt, 20, and Daniel Simons, 82, all of California. Troopers recovered the four bodies from the wreckage at about 6.30pm, after the tide had receded and made the aircraft accessible.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified and is investigating the cause of the crash. Officials have not said whether the aircraft was landing, taking off or attempting a go-around when it entered the water.
Middlebrook had previously served on the Bethel City Council and as mayor of the western Alaska town, which has a population of about 6,000. He owned a commercial refrigeration business and was known for flying to villages across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to repair refrigeration equipment, according to people familiar with his work.
The victims’ remains were sent to the Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office for examination, and officials said their next of kin had been notified.
