Planes Collide Midair in Alaska; GOP State Legislator, 6 Others Killed

Seven people, including an Alaska state lawmaker, died Friday when two small airplanes collided in midair near the airport in Soldotna.

A plane rests in brush and trees after a midair collision outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on July 31, 2020. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion via AP); Alaska state Rep. Gary Knopp in Juneau, Alaska on Feb. 12, 2018. Becky Bohrer/AP Photo

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—Seven people, including an Alaska state lawmaker, died Friday when two small airplanes collided in midair near the airport in Soldotna, a small community on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

Alaska State Troopers said state Rep. Gary Knopp, 67, of Kenai was the sole occupant of one plane. The other plane was flown by a local pilot, and carried a guide from Kansas and four people from South Carolina.