Troopers: 3 dead in plane crash on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska State Troopers say three people were killed when a small plane crashed on land near a bay on the Kenai Peninsula.

Troopers spokesman Ken Marsh says the crash occurred Friday night in Little Johnstone Bay, about 30 miles southeast of the community of Seward.

Troopers identified the pilot as 63-year-old Kem Sibbitt of Fairbanks. The identities of the two passengers were not immediately released. All three bodies were recovered Saturday.

Marsh didn’t know the purpose of the flight in the Helio Courier aircraft, but he said it was a private plane.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.