Vanished in the Shadows of Denali: The Unresolved Fate of Maria Libacka and the 2018 Thunder Mountain Crash

A Scenic Flight Turns Tragic

On August 4, 2018, a sightseeing tour over Denali National Park turned into a harrowing mystery. Maria Teresa Libacka, a Polish tourist, joined fellow travelers Janusz Intek, Kazimierz Miernik, and Robert Sieniawski, along with veteran pilot Craig Layson, for a one-hour flight departing from Talkeetna, Alaska. Their aircraft, a single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver operated by K2 Aviation, was expected to fly over glaciers and the Denali Base Camp before returning. However, the plane never made it back. 

The Crash on Thunder Mountain

The aircraft's GPS tracker ceased transmitting shortly after it passed over the base camp around 5:45 p.m. Subsequent investigations revealed that the plane had crashed into a crevasse on a knife-edge ridge of Thunder Mountain, approximately 14 miles from Denali's summit, at an altitude nearing 11,000 feet. In the immediate aftermath, pilot Craig Layson managed to make two brief satellite phone calls, indicating he was trapped and that there were at least two fatalities. Both calls were abruptly cut off, and no further communication was received. ...Read More

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