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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 7:39 a.m., Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Iditarod: 6th dog dies during airplane flight

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A sixth dog in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race has died.

Race officials say the dog on Alan Peck's team died during a flight from Shaktoolik to Nome.

The musher had scratched in Shaktoolik, and officials were picking up the dog team Monday. Race spokesman Chas St. George says the airplane encountered significant turbulence during the flight. The pilot was forced to land in Golovin, where it was discovered that one of the dogs, a 2-year-old female name Cirque, had died.

St. George says the dogs were in good condition when loaded onto the plane. A necropsy has been scheduled.