By Delcenia Cosman

Homer Independent Press

A plane crash that killed four people in Seldovia last week happened during an aborted landing, or what a National Transportation Safety Board investigator called a “go-around.” 

“The airplane did strike trees at the end of the runway, and then ultimately descended into the water,” said NTSB Alaska Region Chief Clint Johnson.

Johnson said the NTSB sent an investigator to Seldovia last Thursday morning to document the crash site. The Piper PA-24 crashed and sank in the Seldovia Slough about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26. 

Troopers recovered the bodies of pilot Eric Middlebrook, 68, of Anchorage; Ronald Schmidt, 65, of California; Lance Schmidt, 20, of California, and Daniel Simons, 82, of California, from the plane about 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday after the tide dropped. Johnson said authorities used a helicopter to pull the plane, a Piper PA-24, from the water Thursday morning and flew the wreckage to Homer, where it was disassembled and sent to Anchorage for further investigation. 

Johnson said Monday the NTSB should release a preliminary accident investigation report within 10 days. Full investigations typically take about 18 months. 

Experts from Piper and Lycoming, the respective airframe and engine manufacturers, will help NTSB determine if any mechanical issues occurred with the plane. 

The Associated Press and Alaska’s News Source reported that Middlebrook, a former Bethel mayor and city council member, had decades of experience as a pilot. He owned a commercial refrigerator business and regularly flew to villages along the Kuskokwim River Delta to repair coolers and refrigerators. 

Troopers said in an Aug. 26 dispatch that the plane was flying into Seldovia from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage when it crashed in the slough and sank in about 15 feet of water. The bodies of the four deceased were sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, and next of kin have been notified.

Troopers were notified of the crash at 1:18 p.m., according to the dispatch. State and wildlife troopers from Anchor Point responded in the P/V Augustine; the Department of Public Safety also sent a helicopter from Anchorage. 

Local fishing guide Clay Duda said between 1:30-1:45 p.m., he heard the U.S. Coast Guard broadcast that the plane crashed near the Seldovia Slough Bridge with people inside. Crew on the F/V Labrador reported they discovered the plane’s location shortly after, according to Ashley Keithley, co-owner of Seldovia Fishing Adventures alongside her husband, Chris, who responded on the Labrador.