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Investigators are now examining the wreckage of a float plane that crashed Tuesday Night as it tried to make a landing on Beluga Lake in Homer.
The single-engine Cessna 206 was carrying 5 people. One of them, former Alaska Lawmaker Cheryll Heinze died as a result of injuries she suffered in the crash.
Witnesses say that at the time the plane was attempting its landing, strong winds were blowing across Beluga Lake. Some of those witnesses described those winds as "crosswinds" -- winds blowing at a right angle to the direction of flight. They can be especially treacherous for a landing plane.
Late Wednesday afternoon, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that winds were being examined as a possible contributing cause to the crash.
From the looks of the wreckage, which was visible the day after the crash as two pontoons sticking out of the water, the plane suffered an inverted landing. Pilots say escape from a sinking, upside down plane can be extremely difficult.
As of Wednesday night, there was no official cause of death for Cheryll Heinze, but a medical source told Channel 2 News that Ms. Heinze survived the impact. She was rushed to Peninsula Hospital -- which is a Level 4 Trauma Center. Then the decision was made to fly her to Anchorage for emergency treatment.
She had been transported back to the airport, awaiting an air ambulance flight out, when she died.
Early Wednesday evening, the N.T.S.B had managed to removed the wreckage from the water for close examination.
It is likely to take many months before an official cause of the crash is known.