Troopers: 3 dead, 1 critically injured in Alaska plane crash

MOOSE PASS, Alaska (AP) — Three people died and a fourth was severely injured in a plane crash in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, authorities said.

The small plane crashed Friday into a mountain on the north side of Tern Lake near Moose Pass, Alaska State Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain told the Anchorage Daily News. Three people were killed in the crash, but one person was airlifted to Providence hospital in critical condition.

The Daily News reported that family members said the survivor, 28-year-old Joy Cooper of Paris, Texas, was on vacation in Alaska with friends when the plane crashed. Cooper suffered multiple broken bones and a partially collapsed lung, but was responsive in the hospital Saturday, her family told the newspaper.

A team was expected to be airlifted to the crash scene Saturday to recover the bodies.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.