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Pilot survives crash landing in mountain pass

The 42-year-old pilot from Kotzebue, Alaska, had taken off from the Whitehorse airport when his plane was forced down at 9 a.m., roughly 20 kilometres from the border to Alaska.
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HAINES SUMMIT

Cloudy weather is to blame for a plane that crash-landed Thursday morning just metres from the Haines Road.

The 42-year-old pilot from Kotzebue, Alaska, had taken off from the Whitehorse airport when his plane was forced down at 9 a.m., roughly 20 kilometres from the border to Alaska.

The pilot survived and was airlifted to Anchorage where he is recovering. He suffered broken bones, cuts and bruises, said RCMP Sgt. Don Rogers.

Sunday, the crumpled 1967 Cessna was still there, pieces of its engine littering the ground.

Crushed bottles of water, a black plastic comb and handwritten flight notes directing the pilot to Northway, Alaska, were strewn beside the wreck.

Blood marks streaked the seats of the two-passenger cabin as well as the tail wing of the plane, where the pilot had stumbled out.