Two Planes Collide on Landing Descent at Talkeetna Airport

On Sunday evening, an airborne collision between two airplanes hospitalized an Eagle River man.

At 5:15 pm, the Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of the collision at the Talkeetna State Airport.

According to reports from Troopers and other witnesses, a Cessna 185 belonging to Talkeetna Air Taxi was piloted by Antonio Benavides and carrying four passengers when it collided with a Cessna 172 piloted by Cole Hagge of Eagle River approximately 100 feet in the air.  Both planes suffered significant damage.  Hagge was transported to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center with what Troopers are calling non-life

threatening injuries.  The passengers and pilot aboard the Cessna 185 were uninjured.

Shaun Williams, who is investigating the incident for the National Transportation Safety Board, says that both aircraft were descending to land at the Talkeetna Airport when the incident occurred.  He says a preliminary report will likely be issued in the next five-to-ten days, but that the full report could take up to a year to be released.