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Plane crash near Nabesna kills 2

a hat
File photo of an Alaska State Trooper hat

A plane crash killed two people in the Nabesna area Thursday, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers received a report of the crash a little before 8 p.m. Thursday, according to a short statement posted online Friday.

The Piper PA-18 Super Cub crashed after taking off from a dirt runway near Nabesna, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. An NTSB investigator said the airstrip was near Snag Creek.

Nabesna is in the northern part of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

The two people who died were the plane’s only occupants, troopers said. They have not been publicly identified, as troopers worked to notify their next of kin.

Few details of the crash were available Friday. Millicent Hill, with the NTSB, said investigators were hoping to get to the crash site within three days.

“Everything is still really early," Hill said. "We’re still gathering facts. There’ll be a preliminary report after we’re able to get on scene and get more information.”

Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org.