Alaska U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’s husband, Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., died after a plane he was flying crashed Sept. 12 in Southwest Alaska.
Peltola, 57, was the former regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Alaska, serving from 2018 to 2022. He previously spent 34 years working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska.
Among other roles, he served as vice mayor and council member for the city of Bethel between 2010 and 2012 and sat on various Alaska Native village corporation boards. After retiring in 2022 from his work for federal agencies, Peltola co-founded Alaska Carbon Solutions, a consulting firm focused on carbon sequestration.
Alaska State Troopers were notified of the crash about 64 miles northeast of the village of St. Mary’s around 8:50 p.m. Sept. 12, according to a statement from the state Department of Public Safety. Federal aviation authorities identified the plane as a single-engine Piper PA-18 Super Cub and said it crashed in mountainous terrain.
Peltola had flown a hunting party and equipment to a remote location and later returned after they had finished their hunt. The crash occurred soon after Peltola departed with a second load of moose meat. He was the only person on the plane.
He initially was pulled from the crash and received medical care from two hunters at the camp near where the crash occurred, but did not survive the evening, authorities said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash.
An emergency locator transmitter registered to Peltola was activated the evening of Sept. 12, authorities said. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center deployed an Alaska Air National Guard rescue team aboard an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, which arrived at the scene about 1:50 a.m. Sept. 13, five hours after the crash.
Peltola held a commercial pilot certification originally issued in 2004, according to an FAA database. The plane that crashed was not registered in his name.
Peltola’s body was brought to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage for an autopsy.
Rep. Peltola flew home from Washington, D.C., on Sept. 13 to be with their family, Peltola’s office said.
Services were held for Buzzy Peltola in Bethel on Saturday, Sept. 16.
A statement from Rep. Peltola’s chief of staff, Anton McParland, described Buzzy Peltola as “one of those people that was obnoxiously good at everything. He had a delightful sense of humor that lightened the darkest moments. He was definitely the cook in the family. And family was most important to him. He was completely devoted to his parents, kids, siblings, extended family, and friends — and he simply adored Mary. We are heartbroken for the family’s loss.”
Rep. Peltola was first elected just over a year ago in a special U.S. House election after longtime Alaska Rep. Don Young died on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle in March 2022. Peltola, a Democrat, was elected to a regular term last November. She became the first Alaska Native member of Congress and the first woman to hold Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat.
She was sworn into office a year ago Sept. 13.
The Alaska Federation of Natives issued a statement on social media saying Buzzy Peltola’s work and legacy “will always be remembered.”
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