The U.S. Coast Guard found the 1975 Cessna 421-C on dry land a few miles northeast of Sitka, Alaska on Friday morning.
Coast Guard officials in Juneau said the plane was headed to Anchorage from Prince Rupert, B.C., when it reported problems with the aircraft's doors around 5:15 p.m.
The pilot decided to make an emergency landing in Sitka, and that was the last time there was any contact.
The plane crashed in a heavily wooded area. The Coast Guard says at the time of the crash, weather was bad and there was low visibility.
The plane was registered to Michael Baker of Bowl Aviation LLC, a business in Colorado Springs. He was on the plane with his wife, Cathy Baker, Richard Mohnssen of Golden, and Richard and Cathryn Lohman of Colorado Springs. Mohnsen's wife and 20-month-old child were supposed to go on the trip, but decided to fly a commercial plane and meet up with them in Anchorage.
All three men were experienced pilots.
Jerry Biggs, chairman of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, knew all five victims. He and his wife had turned down an offer to join the Alaska vacation.
"They were doing it more because they loved to fly. They all lived and breathed airplanes," Biggs said. "They all knew what they were doing. I can never believe this happened."
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will begin an investigation into the cause in a few days.
