Brad Johnson, 46, of Cloquet was on the "trip of a lifetime," according to his wife Carol, when the float plane in which he and a friend were riding crashed Saturday in a remote area outside Anchorage, Alaska.
Johnson was killed in the crash, along with his friend, Roger Ball, 56, of Conde, S.D. (also his wife's cousin) and the plane's pilot, Thomas Iverson, 60, of Nikiski, Alaska.
According to Alaska State Troopers, a report of the crash came just after 11 a.m. last Saturday morning, July 12. When emergency responders reached the scene, the plane was reportedly fully engulfed in flames.
The plane crashed on the west side of Cook Inlet, near the abandoned native village of Kustatan, southwest of Anchorage. Following the crash, the identities of the three men were not initially confirmed until the state medical examiner's office could be brought in.
The cause of the crash is not yet official, but an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board was dispatched from Anchorage to the crash site on Tuesday. A spokesman for the NTSB said the investigator was expected to put together a preliminary report within the next few days but indicated a final report could take up to six months.
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Johnson's wife said her husband and cousin were long-time hunting and fishing buddies and had been exploring Alaska's Kenai Peninsula for about a week prior to the accident. He had reported he was having a wonderful time on the trip during the last telephone conversation she had with him on Friday night.
She said the two were headed to Seward Saturday morning. She added that officials reported to family members that the weather was clear as the plane took off and it was circling around to view wildlife when the engine apparently quit.
Johnson's funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 21, at Our Savior's Lutheran Church.
