Tourists' icy tomb on 11,000ft mountain: Wreckage of plane is pictured perched precariously on Alaskan peak where it's too dangerous to retrieve four bodies from a crash after desperate pilot called for help before they all died in the wilderness

  • Searchers found four people dead in the wreckage of the plane in Alaska's Denali National Park on Monday
  • The fifth is missing and presumed dead a day and a half after clouds hampered response to distress calls
  • The pilot was identified as Craig Layson, but the names of the four Polish passengers haven't been released 
  • Layson called Saturday from a satellite phone saying passengers suffered injuries, but the connection failed before he could give details

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Perched precariously on a mountain ridge near the top of North America's tallest peak, this is the wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed with the pilot and four Polish tourists on board.

Searchers on Monday found four people dead in the plane in Alaska's Denali National Park - a day and a half after thick clouds hampered the response to distress calls that they were alive but injured. The fifth is missing and presumed dead.

The pilot has been identified as Craig Layson, of Michigan, but park officials say the names of the four Polish passengers aren't being released at the request of the Polish Embassy in Los Angeles.  

The crash occurred in rough terrain, on a hanging glacier which traverses a crevasse, near the top of Thunder Mountain, about 14 miles southwest of Denali, North America's tallest mountain, on Saturday.

The wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed Saturday on a mountain ridge near the top of Denali, North America's tallest peak, with the pilot and four Polish tourists on board

The wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed Saturday on a mountain ridge near the top of Denali, North America's tallest peak, with the pilot and four Polish tourists on board

The pilot called for help and he and others did survive after the Saturday crash, but the line went dead and no one has been found alive

The pilot called for help and he and others did survive after the Saturday crash, but the line went dead and no one has been found alive

The pilot has been identified as Craig Layson (pictured), of Michigan, but park officials say the names of the four Polish passengers aren't being released

The pilot has been identified as Craig Layson (pictured), of Michigan, but park officials say the names of the four Polish passengers aren't being released

Poor weather prevented any rescue efforts until a ranger reached the area on Monday. 

Now, park officials say they're working to determine if and when they can start trying to recover the bodies of the people killed.   

After going down, Layson reported by satellite phone that passengers suffered injuries, but the connection failed before he could give details of their exact location.

The de Havilland Beaver aircraft was stocked with sleeping bags, a stove and food, giving hope that survivors would be found despite terrain described by the National Park Service as 'extremely steep and a mix of near-vertical rock, ice and snow.'

Low-lying clouds and rainy conditions prevented crews from spotting the wreckage until a break in the clouds on Monday allowed a helicopter to reach the crash site.

A park service ranger was lowered down on a line from the copter and dug through snow that had filled the aircraft to find the bodies of four people. 

After going down, Layson (above) reported by satellite phone that passengers suffered injuries, but the connection failed before he could give details

After going down, Layson (above) reported by satellite phone that passengers suffered injuries, but the connection failed before he could give details

The plane, operated by K2 Aviation, had taken off Saturday evening with Layson and the four passengers for a tour of Kahiltna Glacier. A file photo shows peaks in the Alaska range above the glacier

The plane, operated by K2 Aviation, had taken off Saturday evening with Layson and the four passengers for a tour of Kahiltna Glacier. A file photo shows peaks in the Alaska range above the glacier

There were no footprints or other disturbances in the snow that would have indicated anyone made it out of the plane, the park service said. The ranger was pulled out after confirming the deaths.   

The plane, operated by K2 Aviation, had taken off Saturday evening with Layson and the four passengers for a tour of Kahiltna Glacier, the jumping off point for climbers attempting to climb Denali.

It crashed near the top of 10,900ft (3,300m) high Thunder Mountain, which rises above the glacier and is described by the park service as more of a mile-long ridge than a mountain.

Immediately after crashing, Layson used a satellite phone to call the K2 office in the community of Talkeetna. 

He made a second call about an hour later, Belcher said. On one of the calls, he said passengers were injured, but the connection failed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. 

Ideally, an investigator would travel to the crash site and keep analyzing the wreckage when it was removed from the mountain, spokesman Clint Johnson said.

A recovery likely will not occur until later this week at the earliest because of foul weather and the dangerous location, he said.

Sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America's tallest peak, Denali

Sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America's tallest peak, Denali

The de Havilland Beaver aircraft (above, stock photo) was stocked with sleeping bags, a stove and food, giving hope that survivors would be found

The de Havilland Beaver aircraft (above, stock photo) was stocked with sleeping bags, a stove and food, giving hope that survivors would be found

'My understanding is that it's in a crevasse-laden area,' Johnson said, adding that reaching the site will 'require technical climbing experience.'

Layson was from Saline, Michigan, the Saline Post reported. He also owned Stony Creek Collision in nearby Ypsilanti, Michigan, manager Bobby Seldkamp told The Associated Press by phone Monday evening.

Belcher said the park officials were working to contact family members in Poland before identifications would be released. Belcher said the tour had been arranged by a tour operator in Poland with K2 Aviation.

Jason Martin, director of operations for American Alpine Institute, said more crevasses appear with summer snow melt and climbing generally ends in mid-July.

'Everything becomes harder because of the amount of crevasses opening and the weaker snow bridges,' he said.

But sightseeing flights can still land on the glacier, allowing visitors to walk on the ice field, officials said.

Temperatures on the mountain at 11,000ft (3,353m) can be warm if the sun is out but likely below freezing at night, he said. 

His company regularly flies with K2 Aviation for Denali climbs, and before taking off, pilots give passengers a briefing on emergency gear stowed in the back of the airplanes, he said.

K2 Aviation suspended all sightseeing flights after the crash and said it's cooperating with the investigation. 

The company is owned by Suzanne and Todd Rust and has been family-owned and operated for 55 years, according to a statement.