Boat operations have been suspended and aircraft grounded by bad weather with no more signs of a single-engine plane presumed to have crashed in southwest Alaska.
Efforts have stalled in Lake Clark as poor weather is preventing aircraft from continuing the search for the Piper PA-28 Cherokee.
“We are dealing with persistent ice fog off of Lake Clark, and that is hampering the air search,” Megan Richotte, a spokeswoman with Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, said on Monday. “Alaska State Troopers arrived on Saturday, and they were able to fly with their helicopter less than an hour over the lake.”
The plane left Port Alsworth at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday but never arrived in Anchorage.
Authorities believe it went down in Lake Clark, killing the four on-board.
Troopers did not see any new debris in the presumed vicinity of the crash.
A boater found items Thursday belonging to occupants on the plane, and on Friday the co-pilot seat and all three wheels were found on the lake, about 11 miles northeast of Port Alsworth.
Presumed dead in the crash are pilot Kyle Longerbeam, 25, passengers Scott Blom, 45, Kaitlyn Blom, 14, and Zach Blom, 13.
Searchers have been grounded since the trooper flight Saturday, Richotte said.
“No one, community members or park aircraft, have been able to fly yesterday or today,” Richotte said.
She said the bay around Port Alsworth is frozen, so searching by boat had been limited to 18-foot Lunds. On Saturday the park service suspended boat operations because of the cold temperatures and ice fog.
Fundraising efforts for travel and funeral expenses for the two families involved collected more than $30,000 in donations this weekend.
