A private plane carrying eight people, among them the former head of NASA Sean O'Keefe and possibly ex-Senator Ted Stevens, crashed in southwest Alaska on Monday night, sources and officials said on Tuesday.

O'Keefe, the CEO of aerospace firm EADS North America and former U.S. navy secretary, was flying on the plane, according to an EADS spokesman.

Alaska's Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, lost his re-election bid in 2008 after he was convicted on corruption charges, but the case was later thrown out because of prosecutorial misconduct.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Alaska authorities have been told the former longtime Republican senator is among several passengers on the plane. The official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, says Stevens' condition is unknown.

Ex-head of NASA on plane that crashes in Alaska - U.S. news - Life - msnbc.com

News this morning that 5 of 9 people aboard a DHC-3 are dead, a list of those who perished has not been released.

5 believed dead in crash of plane carrying Stevens, O'Keefe: Aviation Industry | adn.com

ScienceDirect - Journal of Air Transport Management : The logistics of air cargo co-mingling at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Sadly...

Stevens killed in crash near Dillingham - KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source |

Apparently, he was in a separate plane crash in 1978 and his wife perished in that one.

CNN is reporting that Steven's and OKeefe's status is still unknown.

The Washington Post is reporting Steven's was killed in the crash. O'Keefe's status is still unknown.

washingtonpost.com

That's what CNN says now too.

RIP

Alaska National Guard doing a News Conference right now.

When asked, the response was "Mr. O'Keefe's status is still unknown."

Although....

Source: EADS exec O'Keefe survives plane crash-source | Reuters

Note: Lifted from PPRuNe (same topic)

everybody here was so nice to him when he was alive .


http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ha...nd-guilty.html

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ca...-off-jail.html

now that he's dead, that's different ?

Don't forget that his convictions were thrown out and the Justice Department was severely reprimanded because they basically fabricated and manipulated key evidence in their zeal to make a high-profile (ie career-enhancing) case.

Does that make him innocent? Not necessarily, but 'll give him the benefit of the doubt. If the feds had to frame him to make it stick, he might not be such a bad guy after all.