Air Force Lt. Gen. David J. McCloud, who commanded all military forces in Alaska, died along with a passenger in a private plane crash.
McCloud was flying his YAK-54, a Russian-made, single-engine, aerobatic plane, when it crashed in a paratrooper drop zone at Fort Richardson, just east of Anchorage on Sunday.The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating.
As commander of the Alaskan Command, McCloud was responsible for more than 21,000 active duty and reserve members of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Alaska National Guard.
McCloud took the post in December, succeeding Lt. Gen. Patrick Gamble, who took a job at Air Force Headquarters in Washington.
"General McCloud was a superb airman and an exemplary leader," President Clinton said in a statement. "He helped ensure that our forces from all of the military services were prepared to meet the challenges of the post-Cold War environment."