Air Force officer, 2 Army Corps of Engineers civilians among Alaska plane crash dead

The Air Force and Army Corps of Engineers identified three of the eight people killed when their charter aircraft crashed last week near a remote radar site in southwestern Alaska.

Leah Borsich was a 23-year-old Air Force second lieutenant assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, the 11th Air Force said in a statement early Tuesday. She was a project programmer for the  611th Civil Engineer Squadron.

Army Corps of Engineers employees Sabrina Hansen and Hayden Scalis, both of Anchorage, also died in the crash, the agency said Monday.

The crash occurred Thursday at Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport, about 460 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Bering Sea. Everyone on board was killed.

Cape Newenham is an Air Force airstrip that provides access to the long-range radar station, which is managed by Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center.

It is part of a network of remote radar sites that track aircraft operating in Alaska’s airspace and along its borders, according to the Air Force. Due to their locations, the only ways to get in or out are by plane or barge, service officials have said.

The twin-engine turboprop Cessna Conquest went down in foggy conditions as it tried to make a second landing attempt, according to preliminary data from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Military officials expressed grief over the deaths of their personnel.

Borsich “brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm” and “led with professionalism, compassion and purpose,” said Col. Timothy Meerstein, commander of Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center.

Hansen and Scalis worked for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Alaska District. They were traveling to the radar site to inspect and perform maintenance on a new fire suppression system, the agency said.

Hansen worked as a fire protection engineer and Scalis was a mechanical engineer.

“They were public servants and true professionals dedicated to securing our nation,” said Lt. Gen. William “Butch” Graham, the agency’s chief of engineers and commanding general. “Our thoughts are with their families and colleagues during this time of immeasurable loss.”

The Alaska State Troopers will release the names of those killed who were not affiliated with the Defense Department, the agency said.

The Corps of Engineers chartered the plane, which was operated by Security Aviation. Two pilots and six passengers were on board, NTSB Alaska region chief Clint Johnson said at a news conference last week.

The pilots were navigating solely by instruments because conditions didn’t allow them to see the ground, Johnson said. The plane went down in steep terrain about a quarter of a mile from the runway, leaving “highly fragmented” wreckage, he said.

The NTSB is investigating the crash.