A report of a crashed plane near the airstrip in Sterling was responded to by Alaska State Troopers at 12:15 pm on Wednesday.

The pilot, 49-year-old David Duncan from Sterling, crashed near the end of the runway after struggling to reach the airstrip. He reported to authorities that his aircraft had encountered freezing rain shortly after take-off from the Sterling runway. His original destination was to be Port Graham.

Duncan told investigators that he had taken off from the strip and ran into freezing rain that formed and clung to the aircraft’s surfaces, including the windshield. That was when he decided to put his airplane back down and attempted to land at the strip near Duncan Landing Road. He was unsuccessful at gaining purchase of the strip however and crashed short of the runway.

Duncan had one passenger on-board the aircraft at the time of the incident, identified only as a 16-year-old female. Duncan reported only minor injuries and his 16-year-old passenger suffered only bumps and bruises.