A search for a small plane piloted by a Palmer man and missing en route from Soldotna to Palmer continued Monday, but searchers have’t found any signs of the aircraft.
According to Alaska National Guard spokesperson Maj. Guy Hayes, the 11th Air Force’s Rescue Coordination Center was coordinating efforts to locate a green, red and white Piper PA-18 Super Cub. Its pilot, Brendan Mattingley, was last seen at the Soldotna airport between 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. before taking off for Palmer, typically a 90-minute flight.
Hayes said that weather Monday morning hindered the search, with only Seward Civil Air Patrol units able to search for Mattingley and all other units on a weather hold.
Private pilots and Mattingley's friends assisted in the search Sunday, focusing their efforts on the Chickaloon Flats and the Soldotna Game Refuge between Soldotna and Cook Inlet.
Editor's note: The spelling of Brendan Mattingley's last name has been corrected from its initial appearance as "Mattingly."
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