Alaska search and rescue divers recovered the bodies of a helicopter pilot and three scientists on Sunday from the sunken wreckage of their aircraft, which went down in a shallow lake last week on the remote North Slope, authorities said.
The only way to raise the wreckage will be to use another helicopter because it’s in the middle of one of the many lakes scattered across the vast tundra, said Clint Johnson, the chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region.
The dead were identified by the North Slope Police Department as Ronald Daanen, 51, and Justin Germann, 27, both from Fairbanks; Tori Moore, 26, of South Bend, Indiana; and pilot Bernard “Tony” Higdon, 48, of North Pole, Alaska. The helicopter is owned by Maritime Helicopters. In a statement, the company praised Higdon. “We all knew Tony as the consummate professional and a skilled pilot. He will be greatly missed,” the company said.
The wreckage was found near the small coastal town of Wainwright, which is about 50 miles south of Utqiagvik - the northernmost city in the U.S., formerly known as Barrow. The flight originated in Utqiagvik and was supposed to return there.
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