Deadly Alaska Air Crash Cause Remains Mystery

It may take up to 18 months to find out what caused the airplane crash in Alaska that claimed the lives of two Greenville families.

The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on the crash late Wednesday, but it offered few details other than the pilot had filed no flight plan before taking the two families on an overnight trip to a bear-viewing lodge on the Kenai Peninsula.

Killed in the crash were the pilot, Walter "Willie" Rediske, and two vacationing families from Greenville: Melet and Kimberly Antonakos and their three children; and Chris and Stacey McManus and their two teenage children.

The de Havilland DHC-3 Otter operated by Rediske Air crashed and burned after taking off from the Soldotna airport, about 75 miles southeast of Anchorage.

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said a final report with the probable cause of the crash is expected to be released 12 to 18 months after the crash.

Winds at the time of the crash were light, at approximately six knots, according to the NTSB. The report said the craft was destroyed by impact forces and fire upon crashing.

The pilot was flying under visual flight rules and no flight plan was filed for the trip. Also hampering investigators is the fact that the plane carrying the two families was not required to have a data-recording device, also known as a black box.

According to the NTSB, the aircraft got airborne and then crashed with its right wing down at about 11:20 a.m. local time. The propeller, which had four blades, showed evidence of rotation at the time of impact.

While components such as the plane's engine are being investigated by their manufacturers for clues, the NTSB has said it is looking at such factors as the weight and balance of the plane, though the passengers weren't carrying a lot of baggage for the overnight trip and there appeared to be no large items that might cause its weight to shift measurably.