Air Force Releases Picture of Airman Killed in Remote Alaska Plane Crash
The plane crashed close to a radar site around 450 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday.
The U.S. Air Force has identified the servicemember killed in a plane crash in a remote part of western Alaska as 2nd Lieutenant Leah R. Borsich. The 23-year-old project programmer was a member of the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. On Thursday, a Cessna 441 charter aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport, a U.S. Air Force-operated base located 450 miles west of Alaska's largest city.
The crash resulted in the deaths of eight people, including two pilots and six passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the incident, which occurred at Cape Newenham, a radar station that is part of a network monitoring potential threats to North America. Borsich was described as a positive leader who brought great energy and enthusiasm to her command.
Colonel Timothy Meerstein, the commander of Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center, praised Borsich for her professionalism, compassion, and dedication to her service. The NTSB has published a photograph of its investigators near the wreckage of the aircraft, with the base's runway visible in the background. The agency is scheduled to release its preliminary findings on the crash within the next three weeks, followed by a comprehensive report on the likely cause of the incident within the next two years.
Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
