On Thursday morning AST released the names of the pilot and passenger who died in the crash of a Cessna 185 outside of Chitina near the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park following positive ID by the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage.

Identified were 45-year-old Christopher Maize, of Glennallen/Anchorage, the pilot, and passenger 36-year-old Andrew Broders of Washington state.

It took two days after the initial crash to successfully extricate the victims. On the day of the crash, February 4th, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center launched after receiving a signal from an Emergency Locator Beacon 13 miles northeast of Chitina. When they arrived on scene, they were able to locate the remote crash site in a wooded area of a gradual slope.

The following day, troopers and National Park Service personnel arrived at the location and documented the scene, and set up a landing zone. But, due to fading light postponed extrication until the following day.

AST and NPS returned to the scene at approximately noon on February 6th and extricated the remains from the fuselage and transported them out of the field.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

  Anchorage, andrew broder, cessna, chitina, christopher maize, crash, deceased, glennallen, investigation, ntsb