ANCHORAGE, AK — Anchorage-based Security Aviation has identified the two pilots killed when a charter plane crashed near the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site on Aug. 20, leaving all eight people aboard dead.
Captain Dave Furber of Anchorage was 73, and first officer Sergei Zelenkov II of Chugiak was 34. The company said they were flying the Cessna 441 Conquest when it went down near the remote Bering Sea coast site west of the runway.
The crash is now the deadliest in Alaska since a Bering Air plane went down in February 2025, killing all 10 people on board.
Charter flight was headed to a remote radar site on Alaska’s coast
The twin-engine turboprop had been chartered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a flight from Anchorage to the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site. That facility is part of a network of remote radar stations used to track aircraft operating in Alaska airspace and along the state’s borders.
The six passengers included Army Corps employees Sabrina Hansen and Hayden Scalis; U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Leah Borsich; Trevor McWilliams of Yukon Fire Protection Services; and two employees of Calista Corporation subsidiary Calista Brice, Joseph “Joe” Palmer and Tom Fisher.
Security Aviation’s announcement gives the first public identification of the pilots involved in the crash, but the full identification of the victims remains incomplete.
NTSB says the plane crashed during a second approach in low visibility
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the aircraft was making a second approach when it crashed in mountainous terrain west of the runway at the site. Investigators said visibility was low at the time.
The agency is continuing its investigation and expects to release a preliminary report within the coming weeks. That report should offer the first formal look at what happened in the final moments before impact.
For now, officials have not said what caused the plane to go down or whether weather, terrain, or another factor played the largest role.
Troopers still have not positively identified remains of the victims
As of Sept. 5, Alaska State Troopers had not yet positively identified the remains of any of the victims. The crash scene is in a remote area, which has made the recovery and identification process more difficult.
Security Aviation’s statement and the names released by the company help confirm who was aboard, but they do not replace the formal work needed to identify remains.
The lag between the crash and positive identification underscores how hard it can be to work in Alaska’s far-flung aviation corridors, especially after a fatal accident in rugged terrain.
Cape Newenham crash adds to Alaska’s long record of aviation tragedy
The Aug. 20 wreck has drawn attention because of both the number of people killed and the remote place where it happened. Cape Newenham sits along the Bering Sea coast and is reached by aircraft serving a radar installation with an important role in monitoring air traffic.
Alaska depends heavily on aviation, and crashes in isolated places often become major recovery operations. This one involved a military charter, a commercial operator, and passengers connected to federal and private employers.
The deadliest prior crash in the state was the February 2025 Bering Air accident, which killed all 10 people aboard. That recent tragedy now sits just ahead of this one in Alaska’s grim aviation history.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
