DILLINGHAM, Alaska, March 9 (UPI) -- The bodies of a pilot and co-pilot were recovered Saturday from the wreckage of their cargo plane that crashed in southwestern Alaska, authorities said.
The Alaska State Police said Jeff Day, 38, the pilot, and Neil Jensen, 21, the co-pilot, died when the Ace Air Cargo Beechcraft 1900 went down Friday morning about 20 miles northeast of Dillingham, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The crash occurred after the pilots had notified the Dillingham airport of their approach.
Efforts to find the plane's wreckage were hampered by thick clouds and snow, the newspaper said.
An Alaska Air National Guard crew spotted the plane broken into three parts early Saturday, representatives of the National Guard and State Patrol said.
Todd Erickson of Ace Air Cargo said the twin-engine plane was en route from King Salmon to Dillingham when it crashed. He declined to provide details about the plane's cargo or the pilots' tenure with the air carrier.
