3 killed in small plane crash near Iditarod route
| Anchorage, Alaska
A small plane crashed near a mountain checkpoint along the聽聽Sled Dog Race, killing all three people aboard, state officials said on Tuesday.
Searchers found wreckage of the plane, a聽, on Tuesday near the 4,000-foot level of Rainy Pass in the Alaska Range north of聽.
Rainy Pass is one of the early checkpoints in the 1,000-mile聽, which began in聽聽on Saturday.
The search began late on Monday when the plane was reported missing, the聽听蝉补颈诲. It failed to reach its destination of Takotna, an Athabascan village that serves as a race checkpoint 176 miles beyond Rainy Pass.
Killed were pilot聽, 59, a retired聽聽officer, and passengers聽, 48, and Rosemarie Sorvoja, 10, the Alaska State Troopers said. All were from Eagle River.
The plane and those aboard were not part of the "聽Air Force," the group of volunteer pilots who ferry supplies and race officials to checkpoints and take dropped dogs back to聽, said a race spokeswoman.
"All our pilots and all our folks are accounted for,"聽听蝉辫辞办别蝉飞辞尘补苍听听蝉补颈诲.
But skies above the聽聽are typically busy during the race with numerous other small aircraft carrying spectators.
It was unclear whether the crash victims were following the聽, said聽, a spokeswoman for the Alaska State Troopers said. She said the two females were mother and daughter.
The wreckage was found by an Air National Guard helicopter crew. The victims' bodies were recovered, and an investigation into the crash has been launched,聽聽officials said.
Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Carol Bishopric
