A mother, her daughter, 10 and a retired policeman were headed to volunteer in Takotna

Mar 6, 2013 07:43 GMT  ·  By
A single-engine Cessna 182 has crashed on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska
   A single-engine Cessna 182 has crashed on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska

A plane crash in Rainy Pass, on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska has incurred three casualties, reports say.

According to Anchorage Daily News, the victims of the crash have been identified on Tuesday as a mother, her daughter, 10 and a retired Anchorage policeman.

The bodies of 48-year-old Carolyn Sorvoja, daughter Rosemarie Sorvoja and experienced pilot Ted Smith, 59, have been recovered on board the single-engine Cessna 182. Carolyn Sorvoja was an 8-year Army veteran from Cincinnati.

Smith has served as a member of the Anchorage Police Department for 30 years, until retiring in July 2011. The three were on their way to volunteer in Takotna, at the Iditarod checkpoint.

The aircraft left Merrill Field at approximately 10 a.m. on Monday, and was set to arrive in Takotna in about two hours to pick up more people that wished to volunteer.

Alaska National Guard spokeswoman Kalei Rupp has clarified that the pilot was not a member of the Iditarod Air Force. Since he had filed no flight plan, the aircraft was not reported missing until 4 p.m.

The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson started rescue efforts after that time, checking in at local airports to ask if the plane had landed.

The Alaska Air National Guard was eventually called in to search the route, bringing in a guard helicopter and a C-130 aircraft.

At 10:20 a.m. the next day, the wreckage was found by an Air Guard Pave Hawk helicopter, at the 4,500-foot (1.370-m) level near Rainy Pass.

"The crash site was described as making a significant impact onto the terrain," Rupp describes.

Rescue officers were forced to cut through the plane and free the three people inside, she adds. There were no survivors registered on the Takotna flight.