Former LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe  is still recovering after surviving a plane crash that killed former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens earlier this month.O’Keefe and Stevens, R-Alaska, were en route to a fishing resort. Their single-engine plane, carrying nine people, went down about 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 9, amid rough weather and poor visibility, Alaskan search and rescue officials said.When the plane was reported overdue, “good samaritan” private aircrafts began searching for wreckage. Inclement weather prevented rescuers from reaching the crash site until Tuesday morning.Rescue crews struggled with the harsh weather conditions to reach the crash site. Administrators, faculty and students who knew O’Keefe during his tenure at the University watched as reports trickled in.O’Keefe and his son, Kevin, were two of the four survivors of the crash. Five passengers died, including Stevens. Kevin O’Keefe was released from the hospital Aug. 18.O’Keefe currently serves as CEO of the American arm of space giant EADS North America.  He served as LSU chancellor from 2005 to 2008 and initiated the Forever LSU fundraising campaign and the Flagship Agenda before resigning Jan. 16, 2008.”Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to everyone affected by this tragic event, and we send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those lost,” current Chancellor Michael Martin said the day after the crash. Paul Pastorek, Louisiana State Superintendant of Education, flew to Alaska to be with O’Keefe, a long-time friend.Robert Kuhn, associate vice chancellor for finance and administrative services, worked with O’Keefe during his tenure as chancellor.Kuhn said O’Keefe’s leadership and organizational skills were “inspirational” during Hurricane Katrina, when the campus was transformed into a field hospital and shelter for evacuees.Kuhn also mentioned the Forever LSU fundraising campaign, a movement O’Keefe spearheaded.”Personally, I thought he set an unattainable goal,” Kuhn said. “But it certainly looks like we’re going to make it now.”Kevin Cope, Faculty Senate President, called the campaign “a durable and lasting program that will be rewarding for years to come.”Cope received emails and phone calls checking on O’Keefe’s status as the crash report continued.O’Keefe resigned in January 2008 amid speculation that he was going to be fired by System President John Lombardi.Lombardi and other System officials denied rumors that Lombardi had been hired under the condition that he force O’Keefe out.Stevens, 86, was the longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate. He was narrowly defeated in his 2008 re-election bid after a conviction of making false  statements on financial forms. He was later acquitted because of prosecutorial misconduct.–Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]