Alaska National Guard's Rescue Coordination Center in Anchorage received an emergency distress signal from the aircraft, reporting that it was about 37 miles west of McGrath and immediately dispatched a HC-130 Hercules (reg #92-2104) and an HH-60G Pave Hawk Helicopter (reg #92-26468) from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (PAED), which dropped pararescumen from the 212th Rescue Squadron to the site of the plane crash, rescuing the four survivors.
According to Karen Ladegard, superintendent of the Iditarod School District, which oversees the school in the Athabascan community of Anvik and six other schools in the region, Julie Walker, a lifelong Anvik resident and longtime teacher in the village, and the pilot, Ernie Chase, who was originally from Anvik, were killed in the crash.
The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
