On August 4, 2018, 58-year-old pilot Craig Layson departed Talkeetna, Alaska, for a one-hour sightseeing tour over Denali National Park with four passengers from Poland. The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver never returned. Shortly after flying over the base camp for Denali, the aircraft’s GPS stopped moving; the airplane had crashed high on a knife-edge ridge of Thunder Mountain at nearly 11,000 feet, about 14 miles from Denali’s summit, and came to rest in a crevasse amid ice and snow.

Layson made two satellite phone calls in the hour after the crash reporting the accident and passenger injuries before contact was lost. Severe weather and extremely steep, near-vertical terrain hampered search efforts. A ranger lowered by helicopter confirmed four deaths during a brief, tethered search; several days later a fifth body was located inside the aircraft. Because of avalanche risk, deep crevasses, unstable ice and protruding metal, the National Park Service determined recovery of the wreckage and the bodies was not feasible and the victims have not been recovered.

Are there anyone who knew Craig Layson or the passengers and can share details that might help document their final hours?