Ted Stevens In Plane Crash Alaska: Former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was aboard the plane that crashed in southern Alaska on Monday night, a former member of Congress, staff, Mr. Stevens said on Tuesday.Five people, believed to have been killed in the crash, and the assistant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, out of respect for the family, said it was unclear whether anyone survived the crash.
Rescue crews from the Alaska Air National Guard and United States Coast Guard arrived on the scene more than 10 hours after the accident, preventing rain and fog in the mountains and lakes to the north of Bristol Bay.
European aerospace firm EADS said that the head of its operations in North America, Sean O'Keefe, 54, a former NASA administrator, is also on board.
The family of Mr. Stevens issued a statement on Tuesday morning, which expressed concern but said nothing about the fate of former senator:
"The Family: Ted Stevens offers his prayers for all those on board and their families. We thank the brave men and women who work to achieve the site. We continue to work with the Alaska National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers. We thank all for their support and prayers. "
The accident occurred about 320 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska 8 pm summer time, the National Council for Transport Safety said.
Mr. Stevens, 86, was one of more than nine passengers departing the cottage at Lake Aleknagik, where he often spent summers fishing. It was unclear why he and other passengers headed there.
N.T.S.B. said that the accident was about 10 miles north-west of Lake Aleknagik and the aircraft was Dehavilland DHC-3T. The single, high-wing aircraft plane belongs to GCI, Alaska telecommunications provider, as the lodge.
N.T.S.B. said that it sent a team of investigators from the wreck, although he said he did not know the identity of those on board. The agency does not normally send a board member from Washington in an accident of private and corporate aircraft.
Mr. Stevens was the longest Republican senator, until he lost his bid for the seventh time in 2008 after he was found guilty on corruption charges, the case was later thrown out of the prosecutor's conduct.
Its growth in Alaska, it seemed, remained virtually unchanged, despite the scandal, and recently he was the campaign, Republican Senator of the State, Lisa Murkowski. Senator Murkowski issued a statement asking Alaska to pray for those on board the aircraft.
Mr. Stevens had another plane crash on Dec. 4, 1978, which killed five of the seven people on board, including his first wife, Ann. He rode on a plane that crashed while landing at Anchorage International Airport, which was renamed the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in honor of the senator in 2000.
Prior to this 1978 accident, according to Mr. Stevens said about the premonition that he would die in a plane crash, the fate that is not unknown to many in Alaska who are traveling a huge state, a small aircraft.
Mr. O'Keefe, NASA's leadership from 2001 to 2005, and was known for his leadership during the bombing of the ship "Columbia" in February 2003. He retired in 2005 and became rector of the University of Louisiana before the EADS in November 2009.
