Investigators trying to figure out what caused the plane crash near Dillingham in Alaska, which took the lives of Senator Ted Stevens and Sean O’Keefe, former chief of Nasa, say that, at present, they are looking at numerous possibilities. The 1957 DeHavilland DHC-3T crashed into a mountainside 17 miles to the north of the town of Dillingham on Monday.

Officials say that bad weather in the area hampered recovery and rescue efforts. The alarm was raised after the aircraft failed to land as scheduled and local residents reported seeing plane wreckage on the mountain. There were nine passengers on board, five died and four were badly injured. Officials are still waiting to talk to the survivors.

Chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman, said the investigation into what caused the crash was still in its early stages and that at the moment nothing was being ruled out. She added that at the time of the crash there were gusts, clouds and light rain.

According to local media, landing at Dillingham Airport can be tricky for pilots even in fine weather. Poor weather conditions meant that rescue teams had to wait until early on Tuesday to get to the crash site. Some local residents were first at the scene and described it as horrific.

Rescue worker, Tom Tucker, described how, on arriving at the scene, he and other workers covered the survivors with blankets and attempted to make them as comfortable as possible. He said a tarpaulin was used to create a shelter from the elements.