Kenai man among dead in plane crash

  • Thursday, September 1, 2016 9:47am
  • News

A Kenai man was killed along with four others in a midair plane crash near Bethel on Wednesday.

Alaska State Troopers have released the names of the five people killed when the two planes collided. Among them was 32-year-old Steven Paul Andrew of Kenai, who was a passenger in “the Ravn aircraft, a C208 Caravan,” troopers wrote on an online dispatch. Also in that aircraft were 21-year-old Aaron Jay Minock of Russian Mission and the pilot, 48-year-old Harry Wrase of Wasilla.

The other aircraft in the collision was a Renfro’s Alaska Adventure Super Club that had taken off from Bethel “flying to a hunting camp,” troopers wrote. Its pilot, 44-year-old Zach Justin Babat of Montana, and passenger, 40-year-old Jeff Thomas Burruss of Haines, were also killed.

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The Bethel post of the Alaska State Troopers was notified of the crash near the village of Russian Mission just after 11 a.m. Wednesday. Troopers and the National Transportation Safety Board are continuing an investigation at the scene, according to the dispatch.

— Staff Report

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