Jeff Babcock, a NPS employee based in Alaska, was killed in a plane crash Monday in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. (National Park Service Photo)
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Updated 6:40 p.m.
Two Alaskans flying from Whitehorse to Anchorage were killed in a plane crash in Whitehorse, Yukon
Territory, according to the Yukon Coroner.
Chris Krepski with the TSB said the Cessna 170B crashed at about 5:30 p.m. local time. The plane crashed
shortly after takeoff about 2,000 feet south of the runway at the Whitehorse international airport.
Tuesday afternoon, Heather Jones, the Chief Coroner for Yukon, identified the plane’s two occupants as
Charles Eric Benson, 56, of Palmer, and Jeffrey Brian Babcock, 58, of Wasilla. Benson owned the plane, but
Jones said it appears that Babcock was flying the plane at the time.
Jones said in a release that investigators found that the two men’s journey had begun on Saturday, May 25
in Minnesota, where the plane was purchased. The pair’s most recent stop before Whitehorse was Watson
Lake, Yukon Territory, before arriving in Whitehorse at 4:10 p.m. Monday. The plane took off, bound for
Anchorage, just over an hour later.
The plane crashed in a forested area, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, and caught fire after the crash.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent a two-person investigative team to the crash site to
learn more about what went wrong. Krepski said Tuesday afternoon that the investigators were still on site.
Alaska State Troopers posted to their Facebook page Tuesday afternoon that Babcock was a retired Alaska
Wildlife Trooper Captain. Troopers wrote that Babcock retired from the Department of Public Safety in 2004.
The National Park Services said in a release Tuesday evening that both Babcock and Benson were current
NPS employees, though they weren't working at the time of the crash.
The two were ferrying the privately-owned plane from the Lower 48 to Anchorage, the agency wrote. Babcock
was the NPS Alaska Region Aviation manager, and Benson was the NPS Alaska Region Safety Manager.
“Jeff and Eric were two of our very best and the National Park Service and Alaska Region have suffered a
terrible loss,” said Bert Frost, NPS Alaska Regional Director in the release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with
the families of Jeff and Eric and we are heartbroken.
The Park Service wrote that in addition to his Law Enforcement experience, Babcock had flown for seven years
with an aviation company.
Benson served in the U.S. Air Force and the Army, according to the National Park Service, for a total of 26
years.
The National Park Service said a service for Babcock would be held Saturday, June 1 at the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Colony Chapel at 9475 East Silver Springs Cir. in Palmer. The service will start
at 11:00 and is open to anyone. Services have not yet been announced for Benson.
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2 comments:
Well, that's sad. May God help their families.
How awful. Prayers up for their families.
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