A Soldotna man and a juvenile from Kenai were identified by Alaska State Troopers as the two people injured in a Thanksgiving Day plane wreck on the West Side of cook Inlet.
Brad Adams, 55, of Soldotna was piloting a PA-18 Super Cub owned by Nikiski-based Alaska West Air when the plane crashed on Kustatan Beach Thursday before noon, according to a Trooper report.
“The plane crash was seen from the air, pretty much across the inlet from Nikiski,” said Tim DeSpain, during a Thursday interview. “They could see two people.”
Alaska West Air had another plane in the area which found the wreckage of the plane. The pilot of that second plane called the coordinates for the downed plane to the Kenai Flight Service, according to the Trooper report.
Alaska West air sent its own helicopter from Nikiski to rescue the two — before Troopers had to respond. The pilot of the helicopter took Adams and the young male to Central Peninsula Hospital where they were met by Central Emergency Services crew who helped offload them into the hospital, said CES Capt. Lesley Quelland on Thursday.
Adams suffered serious but non-life threatening wounds and the juvenile was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries, according to the Trooper report. The National Transportation Safety Board was notified of the crash, but did not return calls for information.
Reach Rashah McChesney at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com
