Alaska State Troopers said that an Anchorage man is dead after his plane crashed near McGrath on Aug. 31. Troopers said that 58-year-old Anchorage resident Cary Foster was the sole occupant of the Piper PA-18 Super Cub he was flying, which went down approximately 60 miles south of the upper Kuskokwim River community. It’s not yet clear what caused the plane to crash.
On the morning of Aug. 31, poor weather prevented Alaska Wildlife Troopers from responding to the area. But a helicopter dispatched by the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage was later able to reach the site and recover Foster’s body, according to a trooper dispatch.
Foster’s remains have been sent to the state medical examiner’s office and his next of kin have been notified.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be conducting an investigation of the incident.
This is the first fatal plane crash in the McGrath area since 2011, when a Cessna 207 collided with the side of a mountain in poor weather while en route to the Yukon River community of Anvik, leaving two dead and four seriously injured.
This is a developing story and may be updated with additional information.
