A small plane that crashed in rural Alaska earlier this month, killing the husband of U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was carrying more than 500 pounds of moose meat and antlers from a remote hunting camp when it went down shortly after takeoff, according to an investigation report released Thursday.

Eugene Peltola Jr., 57, was the only person aboard the plane that crashed Sept. 12 about 65 miles northeast of the small western Alaska community of St. Mary’s. He was found conscious but died at the scene, the initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board states.

A final report with probable cause findings could take up to two years, the NTSB has said.

HUSBAND OF ALASKA REP. MARY PELTOLA DIES AFTER SHOCKING PLANE CRASH

According to the report, two days before the crash, Peltola took five hunters, a guide and equipment from Holy Cross to a site about 80 miles northwest of the community, where the group set up camp next to a landing strip. The plan was for the group to hunt for moose and have it taken back to Holy Cross. On Sept. 11, the group got a moose and made plans with Peltola, via satellite messaging devices, for him to transport the meat the next day.

Democratic Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola and her husband Gene Peltola arrive at an election night event on November 8, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The day of the crash, Peltola picked up one load of meat and returned to the area for the second load. One of the hunters estimated there were 50-70 more pounds of meat in this load than the initial one. Peltola strapped antlers to the right wing strut, the report states.

Peltola and one of the hunters talked about the weather and wind, which was “intermittently variable and gusting,” and Peltola was told the gusts were stronger at the departure end of the airstrip, according to the report.

ALASKA REP. PELTOLA’S HUSBAND DIED WHILE USING PLANE TO TRANSPORT MOOSE MEAT: AUTHORITIES

Just two hunters were at the site when the accident happened, and they rendered aid to Peltola after the crash, said Clint Johnson, chief of the Alaska region for the NTSB. The rest of the party had been flown out earlier, although Johnson didn’t have further details about their departure.

There was no evidence to indicate catastrophic engine failure and the plane was not emitting smoke or vapors, the report says. The plane’s cargo load, weighed at the crash site, was about 520 pounds that consisted primarily of moose meat and a set of moose antlers, according to the report.

Peltola was a former Alaska regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and worked for years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Mary Peltola, a Democrat, last year became the first Alaska Native in Congress when she was elected to Alaska’s only U.S. House seat, which had been held for 49 years by Republican Don Young. He died in March 2022.

Text messages released by the House Ways and Means Committee suggest President Biden personally requested a meeting with his son Hunter’s Chinese business partner whose company previously doled out millions of dollars to the younger Biden.

The committee obtained the messages as part of its investigation into Hunter’s foreign business dealings and released them, along with a trove of other documents, on Wednesday to coincide with the House Oversight Committee’s first impeachment inquiry hearing against Biden on Thursday.

One Aug. 27, 2017, WhatsApp message from Hunter to Gongwen Dong, the director of then-Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC, showed Hunter saying his uncle’s “brother” wanted to meet with Ye Jianming, the chairman of the company, in New York City.

DOJ ORDERED HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS TO ‘REMOVE ANY REFERENCE’ TO JOE BIDEN IN FARA PROBE WARRANT: HOUSE GOP

Hunter and his uncle, Jim Biden, the only brother of Joe Biden involved in the family’s business dealings, were in New York City to meet with Ye at the time, according to emails recovered from Hunter’s infamous laptop. The meeting came just weeks after CEFC wired $5 million to an LLC co-owned by Hunter.

“My uncle will be here with his BROTHER who would like to say hello to the Chairman,” Hunter said in the message, appearing to reference his dad, who was allegedly involved in the family’s dealings with CEFC. “So please give me location and time. Jim’s BROTHER if he is coming just wants to say hello he will not be stopping for lunch.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

WATCH: BIDEN INTERRUPTED BY CLIMATE PROTESTER, TELLS HECKLER THAT HE WILL MEET HIM ‘IMMEDIATELY AFTER’ SPEECH

President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, step off Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, N.Y., on Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The documents released by the committee also revealed the Department of Justice ordered FBI and IRS investigators involved in the Hunter Biden probe to “remove any reference” to Biden in a search warrant related to a Foreign Agents Registration Act probe.

“The Biden Administration — including top officials at the Justice Department — lied to the American public and engaged in a cover-up that interfered with federal investigators and protected the Biden family, including President Biden himself,” the committee said following the release.

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According to the committee, the documents “corroborate” the whistleblower testimony to the committee “and reinforce their credibility and their high esteem among colleagues.”

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

“The Breakfast Club” co-host Charlamagne Tha God said Republicans should “clear the field” for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley following the second GOP presidential debate. 

During Thursday’s installment of the popular radio show, progressive commentator Tezlyn Figaro gave Haley a shout-out for sticking to policy at Wednesday night’s debate, but Charlamagne took the praise even further.

“GOP should clear the field, get rid of everybody, including Trump, and let Nikki Haley be the GOP candidate,” Charlamagne said.

SECOND REPUBLICAN DEBATE: HERE’S THE BIGGEST WINNER AND THE BIGGEST LOSER

“The Breakfast Club” co-host Charlamagne Tha God urged Republicans to “clear the field” for Nikki Haley so that she becomes the GOP nominee. (Screenshot/The Breakfast Club)

Earlier this month, Charlamagne hailed Haley for her outspoken stance on mandating cognitive tests for aging elected officials, referring to the Senate as “the most privileged nursing home in the country” and calling for term limits. 

“Nikki is absolutely right. She ain’t say one damn thing wrong,” Charlamagne said at the time. “I’ll stop her when she stops telling the truth. We need term limits. And, you know, if you are going to stay in, you definitely need mental competency tests over the age of whatever.”

CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD HAILS NIKKI HALEY’S PUSH AGAINST AGING POLITICIANS: ‘SHE AIN’T SAY ONE DAMN THING WRONG’

Haley, who saw a bump in the polls following the first debate last month, had intense clashes with GOP rivals at Wednesday’s debate, including biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. 

Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, during the Republican primary presidential debate hosted by Fox Business Network in Simi Valley, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Joining them on the debate stage were former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. 

Former President Trump, who was absent from the debates so far, maintains his dominant lead over the rest of the GOP field, holding a more than 42-point lead over his next competitor DeSantis, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls. 

POST-DEBATE ANALYSIS FROM SPIN ROOM; TOP MOMENTS FROM FIERY SECOND GOP DEBATE

2024 Republican presidential candidates Doug Burgum, from left, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Tim Scott and former US Vice President Mike Pence during a debate hosted by Fox Business Network in Simi Valley, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Haley just edged out Ramaswamy for third place this week with a 5.8% average to his 5.1 after the political outsider maintained that spot since July. The rest of the field is below 5%. 

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