John S. Collins, 06/26/04, Flying, Crash
ADN, 06/28/04

California pilot dies in crash near the Parks

A 62-year-old San Diego man died Friday after he crashed his small plane into a hillside about 60 miles north of Talkeetna.

Alaska State Troopers identified the pilot as John S. Collins. He was flying a 1968 single-engine Beechcraft. Rescue workers recovered his remains, which will be taken to Anchorage for an autopsy, troopers said.

U.S. Forestry Service workers found the wrecked plane Friday night roughly seven miles east of the Parks Highway at Mile 162. They reported it to troopers in Talkeetna but were unable to determine a tail number because the plane had been burned so badly, troopers said.

The next morning, troopers, along with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, went to the scene, where they identified the plane and its pilot.

The NTSB has begun an investigation into the crash.

-- Anchorage Daily News