On July 31, an Alaska state lawmaker and seven other people died after two small airplanes collided in midair near the airport in a small community on Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.
Horrible accident
The 67-year-old State Rep. Gary Knopp was the only one on the first plane, the other plane involved in the accident was flown by a pilot from Soldotna, a tour guide from Kansas and four tourists from South Carolina, as reported by the State Troops.
Amanda Price, the commissioner of Alaska's Department of Public Safety, said that the incident is an unfathomable tragedy for the families of the victims.
Partner agencies and troopers have worked together at the scene of the incident and have reached out to the families of those who died and notified them of the heartbreaking accident.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigated the accident, the collusion of the airplanes happened around 8:30 a.m on July 31.
A worker at a golf course that was located near the place of the accident, Rita Geller, told the Anchorage Daily News that she got startled and ran when she heard the planes collide. She also saw the engines and the debris fall to the ground and the planes explode after they hit each other.
The troopers said that 6 of the 7 people in the place were pronounced dead at the scene, the seventh person died while being rushed to the nearby hospital.
Other victims
Aside from Rep. Knopp, the troopers identified the other victims of the incident. Gregory Bell, the 57-year-old pilot from Soldotna, David Rogers, a 40-year-old guide from Kansas, 26-year-old Caleb Hulsey, 25-year-old Heather Hulsey, 24-year-old Mackay Hulsey, and 23-year-old Kirstin Wright, all from South Carolina.
The pilot, Gary Bell, was one of the owners of the High Adventure Air Charter. His business offers tourists hunting trips, viewing adventures, glacier tours, and fishing trips, as stated on their official website.
On the afternoon of July 31, media outlets reached out to the charter business but the company had no comment over the accident.
State Senator Peter Micciche said in a statement that since they live in a small and tight community in the Central Peninsula, he knew that the horrific accident involved someone he knew. He added that he knew both Rep. Knopp and Greg Bell for most of his life and that Rep. Knopp served the Kenai Peninsula community for years.
The U.S and state flags were ordered by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to be lowered to half-staff and to remain in that position to honor Rep. Knopp until August 3.
Bryce Edgmon, the House Speaker of Dillingham, said that he was supervised and deeply devastated when he heard of Rep. Knopp's death. Senate President Cathy Giessel, a Republican from Anchorage, called the accident heart-breaking, stating that Rep. Knopp was a father, a husband, son, brother, grandfather, and friend.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the two planes involved were a twin-engine Piper Aztec and a single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. However, the FAA changed its statement and said that the second plane was not a Piper Aztec. The FAA is still investigating the make and model of the plane.
