On December 7, 2016, 14-year-old Kaitlyn Blom disappeared along with her father, 45-year-old Scott Blom, her 13-year-old brother Zachary Blom, and pilot 25-year-old Kyle Longerbeam after their single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee left Port Alsworth for Anchorage. The flight was bound for a state volleyball championship and had been changed from a commercial flight to this private trip. Searchers found personal items, the co-pilot seat, and three of the aircraft’s wheels floating in Lake Clark about 11 miles northeast of Port Alsworth, but no main wreckage or bodies have been recovered.

Poor weather in the Lake Clark Pass — including fog and low-lying freezing fog that reduced visibility — hampered the search. The pilot was not instrument-rated for those conditions. The NTSB investigated but ruled the cause undetermined because the main wreckage was never located. The four occupants are presumed lost and the disappearance remains an open and painful matter for the small Port Alsworth community.

If anyone knew the Blom family, the pilot, or was in the area that day and has information that could help, please come forward.