Alaskan Command’s US Air Force Director of Operations Dead After Piper PA-18 Crash
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Tragedy struck in the quiet wilderness of Alaska when a small plane took a fatal plunge into the icy waters of Crescent Lake. On board were two individuals, one of them a high-ranking officer from the US Air Force’s Alaskan Command.
Tragedy Strikes Amid Alaska’s Splendor
The aircraft, a Piper PA-18 small plane, was not just any ordinary craft; it was equipped with floats, designed for taking off and landing on water. The skies were its home, and the lakes, its runway. But on this unforeseen day, amidst the vast and rugged landscape of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, around 100 miles south of Anchorage, something went terribly wrong.
It was supposed to be an instructional flight, a routine exercise to sharpen skills and understand the machine better. Colonel Mark Tyson Sletten, who was 46 and lived in Anchorage, served as the director of operations at Alaskan Command. He was accompanied by Paul Kodrat, a 41-year-old man from Utah. Together, they embarked on the ill-fated flight, unaware that it would be their last.
Witnesses, two hikers exploring the beauty of Alaska’s backcountry, saw the plane as it descended into the lake. They immediately informed the Alaska Wildlife Troopers. The crash scene was soon swarming with rescall and response from various departments—a helicopter from the Department of Public Safety and a US Fish and Wildlife Service plane arrived at the scene to begin the search. They searched on the water and along the shore but found no signs of survivors—only the sad remains of a plane that had met its end too soon.
“A single-engine Piper PA-18 float plane crashed at Crescent Lake in Lawing, Alaska, around 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, June 18. Two people were on board. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide further updates.”
The Alaska Command Public Affairs office stated, “Two hikers witnessed the crash and notified Alaska Wildlife Troopers. A Department of Public Safety helicopter and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service float plane responded to the area and located debris in the lake and found no signs of survivors in the water or on the shore area.”
From Investigation to Recovery
The search soon turned into a recovery mission. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) took the lead in the investigation to unearth the reasons behind the crash. The FAA shared the news, stating that the crash happened on June 18th, around 2 pm local time. They pledged to work closely with the NTSB, which would be providing updates as they delve deeper into the investigation.
The aircraft itself was not new; made in 1982, it had seen many years of service. The owner of the plane was Scenic Mountain Air Inc., an Alaskan company known for giving tours to those eager to witness the splendor of the Alaskan wilderness from above. They offered fishing trips that flew visitors into remote locations, scenic tours to show off Alaska’s natural beauty, and chartered flights for those with specific destinations in mind.
But it wasn’t just an airplane crash in some remote part of the world. This was a loss for the US Air Force and the Alaskan community. Two days after the crash, on June 20th, officials announced that the bodies of the two men had been recovered. The troopers shared that the men were still inside the crashed Piper PA-18, which was submerged in nearly 200 feet of water. The aircraft had to be pulled up and brought to shore. The remains of Colonel Sletten and Mr. Kodrat were taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, as the grim task of piecing together their final moments began.
