Alaska State Troopers released the names of the three other passengers in Tuesday night’s deadly plane crash in Homer.
Former lawmaker Cheryl Heinze was killed in that wreck when the Cessna 206 she was flying in flipped while landing near the Homer airport.
The other passengers are: Tony Zellers, 49, Eddie Taunton, 52, Tony Izzo, 51. The three suffered minor injuries. MEA general manager Joe Griffith, 71, was flying Heinze and the other passengers to Homer for a fishing trip.
Zellers is the director of the Eklutna Generation Project. Taunton is a safety manager and Izzo is a fuel supply contract manager at teh EKlutna Generation Project. Izzo is also the former president at Enstar and a past member of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. All three are MEA employees.
The pilot, Joe Griffith, is the general manager at MEA. According to the FAA Griffith's pilot license is up to date and he had just renewed his medical certification this past June. That certificate is good for one year. He also has a certification that allows him to fly passengers commercially, but not to fly an airliner.
Kevin Brown, a communications manager at MEA said the company has two greif counsilors on site to help other employees deal with the lose of Heinze. Brown said everyone except Izzo is expected at work on Thursday.
"They're coping pretty well actually," Brown said. "They're visibly shaken and they're grieving the loss of a very dear friend, but they're determined to get back to work."
Contact, Rebecca Palsha
