C170 Down ADN 28 FEB 2008

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Anchorage Daily News 28FEB2008

The pilot of a single-engine aircraft that crashed near Tyonek has died, according to Alaska State Troopers.
The pilot, identified by the Lake and Peninsula Borough as Assemblyman Daniel Salmon of Igiugig, was the sole occupant of the 1953 Cessna 170 that went down Wednesday afternoon near Tyonek, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

"It's devastating to the whole area, not just the community but the entire region," said borough Mayor Glen Alsworth Sr. "Our greatest concern now is for his wife and children and getting them through this."

Salmon had departed Merrill Field in his aircraft early Wednesday afternoon heading to his home in Igiugig when the craft went down near Granite Point, about eight miles west of Tyonek, Alsworth said. Details remained sketchy as to what caused the plane to go down in the area across Cook Inlet and about 43 miles southwest of Anchorage, he said.

The craft suffered substantial damage in the crash, and the National Transportation Safety Board plans to investigate, according to the FAA.

Salmon, whom Alsworth described as an experienced pilot who has flown for years, owned the plane in the crash for several years, he said. Salmon has a long history of helping the community and being a dedicated family man, Alsworth said. His term as assemblyman would have ended in November.

"It's often said that when a great man passes on, he leaves a hole to fill," Alsworth said. "In Dan Salmon's passing, I judge it to be more like a huge crater."