3 Bay Area Residents ID'd In Deadly Alaska Plane Crash

SAN JOSE, CA — Three of the four people killed in a plane crash in Alaska last week were Bay Area residents, authorities said.

Daniel Simons, 82, of Los Gatos; Ronald Schmidt, 65 and Lance Schmidt, 20, both of San Jose, and Eric Middlebrook, 68, of Anchorage, Alaska, died when the plane they were in crashed during the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 26, authorities said.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the three Bay Area residents took off in a Piper PA-24 from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage and were headed towards the Seldovia Slough.

Police say Middlebrook was piloting the small plane when it crashed into the water and completely submerged just before 1:20 p.m.

Due to high tide levels, according to police, state troopers weren't able to get to the victims' bodies until 6:30 p.m. Once taken from the plane, they were sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy, authorities said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a social media statement that it was also investigating the crash.