Former US senator Ted Stevens dies in plane crash

A family friend of former US senator Ted Stevens confirmed on Tuesday that the politician died in an Alaska plane crash.


"I can confirm he died in a plane crash in Alaska," family friend Mitch Rose told AFP.
The small plane crashed Monday night near the town of Aleknagik, about 300 miles (480 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
Up to nine people were on board the plane, including former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe, the current North American boss of European aerospace giant EADS.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said earlier that five people were known to have died in the crash. The fate of the other passengers was unclear.