More info at Search for answers begins in plane crash that killed 4 in Southwest Alaska

Life in rural Alaskan villages is tough. While there are often many social problems and other issues in villages, people there do pull together when bad things happen. Bush Alaska is very dependent on air travel in small planes, and the accident rate is very high. If you live in the bush long enough you will know someone who dies in a plane crash. In a previous job my wife had to fly out to bush villages about twice a month, and I'm very glad she isn't doing that any more. Even living in Anchorage, I've lost a friend in a helicopter crash.

If you want to get a sense of what Alaska bush flying is like, read "The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska" by Colleen Mondor. She tells it like it is.