‘I’m doing what I love’: Beloved pilot, Michigan teen remembered after fatal Alaska plane crash

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) - In the days following a fatal plane crash in the Wrangell Mountains, family members and former passengers are remembering the two victims, not for the tragedy of the crash, but for their deep faith, unwavering work ethic and passion for the Alaskan wilderness.Alaska State Troopers identified the victims as 42-year-old pilot Cabot Pitts of Palmer and his passenger, 18-year-old Connor Helsel of Michigan.Troopers reported their aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from a remote dirt airstrip near Snag Creek, roughly 50 miles southeast of Nabesna, on Thursday evening.For Connor’s parents, Herb and Courtney Helsel, processing the sudden loss of their son has been anchored in his faith and the life he lived up to the very moment he left home.One of six children raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Connor grew up hunting, fishing, running cross country and serving in youth ministry at his parents’ church. After graduating high school in May, his eyes we