A small plane that crashed in 2023 carrying moose meat in Alaska, killing the husband of former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was overweight and encountered drag from antlers mounted outside, the NTSB says.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A small plane that crashed in 2023 while carrying moose meat for hunters in remote western Alaska, killing the husband of former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was overweight for takeoff and encountered drag from a set of antlers mounted outside, federal investigators said in a report released Tuesday.

Former Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the people who employed her husband Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr. at the time of his fatal plane crash in 2023. The suit came shortly before the two-year statute of limitations deadline to bring a case and just days before the National Transportation Safety