Alaskan Command operations leader killed in plane crash

An Air Force officer serving as director of operations for the Alaskan Command was one of two people who died this week when their small, two-person plane crashed into a lake in the state. The plane was recovered on Thursday, June 20, and authorities confirmed the identities of the dead on June 21.

Lt. Col. Mark “Tyson” Sletten was killed along with Paul Kondrat when their civilian plane crashed during a training flight. The small plane plunged into the waters of Crescent Lake, part of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. Sletten, who served more than two decades in the Air Force as a fighter pilot and later as the Alaskan Command’s operations chief, was 46 years old.

“The news was devastating to all of us here at Alaskan Command, and the loss of Tyson is felt throughout our community,” Lt. Gen. David Nahom, head of Alaskan Command and 11th Air Force, said in a statement. “Right now, our priority is to take care of his family and our teammates who were close to Tyson.”

The civilian aircraft was operated by Alaska Float Ratings and Kondrat, 41, was a certified flight instructor for Alaska Float Ratings.

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The plane, a two-seat Piper PA-18, crashed near Moose Pass on Crescent Lake on the afternoon of June 18. Hikers noticed the crash and alerted state police, police said. Debris from the plane was visible in the area. Authorities sent an Alaska Air National Guard rescue team to the area shortly after the crash, but no bodies were found. The two men were not found until June 20. Air National Guard members as well as the Alaska Dive Search, Rescue and Recovery Team were able to locate the crashed plane just under 200 feet below the lake’s surface. They recovered the plane and brought it to shore. Both occupants were found dead inside the plane. The bodies were recovered from the plane and taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. There is no immediate indication of what caused the PA-18 to crash.

Sletten served in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot and instructor, training others on the F-16 before being deployed to Alaska. As the director of operations for the Alaskan Command (itself part of the Northern Command), Sletten’s responsibilities included overseeing daily activities and major training exercises for the thousands of U.S. troops in the state. He has held this role since May 2021.

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