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2 Army Corps Employees Among 8 Dead in Alaska Plane Crash Near Remote Military Radar Site/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Eight people, including two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees, were killed when a chartered plane crashed in western Alaska. The twin-engine Cessna 441 went down Thursday near the remote Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash, which occurred in foggy conditions.

Quick Look

• Eight people died in the western Alaska crash.
• The victims included two Army Corps of Engineers employees.
• Two pilots and six passengers were aboard the aircraft.
• The Army Corps had chartered the plane.
• The Cessna 441 departed from Anchorage.
• It crashed near Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport.
• The crash site is about 450 miles west of Anchorage.
• Fog was reported in the area.
• The NTSB and FAA are investigating.
• Security Aviation reportedly operated the flight.
• The radar facility monitors Alaska’s airspace and borders.
• The victims’ names were not immediately released.

Deep Look

Eight killed near remote radar facility

Two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees were among eight people killed in a small plane crash near a remote military radar installation in western Alaska.

The Army Corps chartered the aircraft, which crashed Thursday near its destination at Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport.

The private military airport is approximately 450 miles, or 725 kilometers, west of Anchorage.

The two pilots and six passengers aboard the plane were not immediately identified.

Aircraft departed from Anchorage

The Federal Aviation Administration said the twin-engine Cessna 441 had departed from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

It went down near the Cape Newenham airport before reaching its destination.

Information compiled by a Flight Safety Foundation service indicated that foggy weather was present when the crash occurred.

Investigators had not announced a preliminary cause.

Federal agencies open investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating the crash.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, weather conditions, flight records, pilot information and other evidence to determine what caused the plane to go down.

The specific work the passengers planned to perform at the radar facility was not disclosed.

Military mourns “devastating loss”

Davis commands Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and the Eleventh Air Force.

Radar site monitors Alaska’s airspace

The Cape Newenham facility is managed by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center.

It belongs to a network of remote radar installations that monitor aircraft operating in Alaska’s airspace and along the state’s borders, according to Alaskan Command.

The airport serving the radar station is a private military facility in a remote and difficult operating environment.

Security Aviation reportedly operated flight

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the flight was operated by Security Aviation, an Anchorage-based charter company.

The company was contacted Friday morning for comment.

Cape Newenham has Cold War history

A continental defense radar station was constructed at Cape Newenham in 1950 as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.

The network was created during the Cold War to warn the United States and its allies of a potential Soviet attack.

Little remains of the original radar station, according to CoastView, a science education nonprofit focused on Alaska’s coastline.

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