Former Sen. Stevens killed in crash near Dillingham
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Mitch Rose, spokesperson for the Stevens family, has confirmed that Sen. Ted Stevens was killed in a plane crash near Dillingham Monday night.
Nine people were on board, including former NASA Chief Sean O'Keefe. Five people were killed in the crash, but other identities were not known.
GCI released a statement Tuesday morning that confirmed it owned the plane that went down.
A spokesperson with Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham says two patients were taken to their hospital from the crash site and arrived at 9:45 a.m. Two patients were taken directly from the crash site to the Dillingham airport where a C-130 will take all four patients to an Anchorage hospital.
Late through the night rescue crews were battling bad weather conditions to reach the scene, where Good Samaritans had already arrived and were providing medical assistance, said Air National Guard spokesperson Maj. Guy Hayes.
A military C-130 and a Pave Hawk helicopter were waiting in Dillingham for the weather to break and reached the site just after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The Air Guard received the call about the crash 17 miles north of Dillingham at about 7 p.m. Monday night.
The Stevens family released a statement Tuesday afternoon: "The Ted Stevens family offers their prayers for all those on board and for their families. We thank the brave men and women who are are working to reach the site. We continue to work with the Alaska National Guard, the US Coast Guard and the Alaska State Troopers. We thank everyone for their support and prayers."
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a "Go-Team" from Washington D.C. early Tuesday morning to the crash site. An NTSB official said the team is responsible for investigating the most high-profile and catastrophic crashes.