‘He was doing what he loved’: Air Force colonel killed in civilian plane crash remembered by family (2024)

Published: Jun. 21, 2024 at 2:04 PM AKDT|Updated: Jun. 21, 2024 at 7:11 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - U.S. Air Force Col. Mark “Tyson” Sletten, the operations director of Alaska’s largest defense and rescue mission network (ALCOM), is being remembered by family and fellow service members.

Sletten, 46, and Utah resident Paul Kondrat, 41, were killed on Tuesday when the Super Cub they were flying in crashed into a mountainous lake near Moose Pass, about 90 miles south of Anchorage.

“It’s all a shock to everyone,” Liz Ender, Kondrat’s sister-in-law, said.

According to the Alaska State Troopers, the remains of Sletten and Kondrat were found Thursday inside a small aircraft that rescuers floated to the surface of Crescent Lake. The Air Force colonel and Kondrat were presumed dead after the small plane went down on Tuesday.

“The news has been devastating for all of us here at Alaskan Command and the loss of Tyson is being felt throughout our community,” said Lt. Gen. David Nahom of the Alaskan Command and 11th Air Force in a statement. “Right now, our priority is taking care of his family and our teammates that were close to Tyson.”

Sletten, a father to four daughters, had just started his 24th year of serving in the U.S. Air Force. This year marked his third year as the director of operations of the Alaskan Command, or ALCOM, headquartered on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

During his time with ALCOM, Sletten was in charge of overseeing exercise operations throughout the state, including Arctic Edge.

Kondrat also came from a military background. According to Ender, he served four tours in Afghanistan.

“He also volunteered at the Children’s Hospital in Afghanistan while he was deployed,” Ender said.

Ender said that Kondrat was pursuing his dream of flying in Alaska this summer by taking a job as an instructor at Alaska Float Ratings, based in Moose Pass on the Kenai Peninsula.

“He was working on becoming getting more hours and flying, and he wanted to work at the float plane certification company to get more hours,” Ender said. “He just had a huge love of nature, and I think Alaska offers so much of that he just loved the nature there, and what it had to offer for him.”

Ender said that Kondrat was a float plane instructor, but is unsure of who was flying the plane during the crash.

After receiving news of the crash, several of Sletten’s siblings flew to Anchorage.

“In a weird, weird twist of fate, Mark was born in Alaska and this is where he died,” sister Amy Swanson said in an interview on Thursday. “There’s a rugged beauty here and I think it matches his personality. He had a beauty but a ruggedness that just drew people in.”

Matt Sletten said there was no one else like his older brother, who he remembers as a loving and dedicated man.

“He was respected by everyone that knew him; thousands loved him,” Matt said. “He was a brother to me, though. More than more than just my respect, he had my love. And he was one of those guys that was in your corner no matter what. Phone call from the other side of the world and I would have the confidence he would be there.”

As the firstborn male in the family, Mark was a leader from an early age, Matt said.

“He was quick with a joke too, though,” Matt said. “So he had a great sense of humor. But no doubt he was a leader amongst us. If the times were tough, that’s who we leaned on. If I needed somebody in my corner, that’s who I’d call. Mark was a remarkable man.”

Across the U.S. in Chicago, Ender’s husband also expressed an immense love for his little brother — a man that Ender described as selfless, a caring person who could make everyone feel special and was always there for his family.

“Paul was his hero and his leader. His go-to for everything. They called each other probably every other day,” Ender said. “He gave so much of himself to everyone else to better them. Like he was such a great mentor, leader, friend, and brother to everyone in his life. That’s probably his proudest accomplishment.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and its cause.

“I just had a sense that Mark would go down in a blaze of glory, somehow, somewhere, he seemed to have that sense too,” Matt said. “So doing something he loved and not limping away from it but doing it wholehearted. Mark was the kind of dude that did everything wholehearted. And no doubt in my mind, that’s what he was doing when he passed. He was doing what he loved.”

Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.