Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Thursday, August 02, 2012 in Hoonah, AK
Aircraft: PIPER PA-32-301, registration: N8200M
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On August 2, 2012, about 0800 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-32-301 airplane, N8200M, sustained substantial damage when it collided with tree-covered terrain during cruise flight, about 10 miles north-northwest of Hoonah, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Air Excursions, Juneau, Alaska, as a visual flight rules (VFR) cargo flight, under Code of Federal Regulations Part 135, when the accident occurred. The solo airline transport pilot received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the airplane's point of departure, and company VFR flight following procedures were in effect. The airplane departed Juneau, about 0730 as flight 303, bound for Gustavus, Alaska.
The area between Juneau and Gustavus consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous tree-covered terrain.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 2, the director of operations for Air Excursions reported that during the flight, contact was lost with the airplane. When the airplane failed to reach its destination, a search was initiated. Subsequently, the wreckage was located in a densely wooded area along the airplane's route to its destination. The pilot had not reported any mechanical anomalies.
Another Air Excursions pilot flying in the area at the time of the accident reported hearing the accident pilot making routine position reports on the airplane's radio just prior to the accident.
On August 4, the NTSB IIC examined the airplane's wreckage at the accident site. The debris field extended about 300 feet, on a heading of 190 degrees, in an area of dense tree-covered terrain. Large sections of the airplane's fragmented structure remained suspended in the tall trees. Control continuity could not be established at the accident site. A detailed wreckage exam is pending following recovery.
The closest weather reporting facility was the Hoonah Airport, about 10 miles south-southeast of the accident site. About 4 minutes before the accident, at 0756, a weather observation from the Hoonah Airport was reporting, in part: Wind, 060 degrees (true) at 6 knots; visibility, 4 statute miles with light rain and mist; clouds and sky condition, 2,300 feet few, 3,300 feet overcast; temperature, 55 degrees F; dew point, 54 degrees F; altimeter, 30.15 inches Hg.
Crews recover plane wreckage, pilot’s body
Authorities have recovered the body of Air Excursions pilot Kevin Murray, along with wreckage of the Piper Cherokee airplane he was flying last Thursday when it went down between Juneau and Gustavus.
Alaska State Trooper Tim Birt says Juneau Mountain Rescue and Coastal Helicopters assisted with Saturday’s recovery effort near Point Howard, about 23 miles west of Juneau. Poor weather on Friday delayed the mission until this weekend.
The 56-year-old Murray was the only person on board the flight to Gustavus.
The plane was turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board to determine the cause of the crash.
Alaska State Troopers have identified the pilot who died in yesterday’s plane crash near Juneau.
He’s 56-year-old Kevin Murray from Washington state. Family has been notified, and Trooper Tim Birt says crews will attempt to recover the body and plane this afternoon, if the weather improves.
Murray was the only person on board the Piper Cherokee owned by Air Excursions when it went down at about 8:50 yesterday morning near Point Howard, 23 miles west of Juneau.
He had been due into Gustavus at 8:55 and last made contact around 8:47.
An aerial search by the Coast Guard and Coastal Helicopters launched about 9:15 yesterday morning. The Coastal crew spotted the wrecked plane about 3 o’ clock in the afternoon. A team from Juneau Mountain Rescue was dropped near the crash site and found Murray’s body around 4:30 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 8200M Make/Model: PA32 Description: PA-32 Cherokee Six, Six, Saratoga, Turbo
Date: 08/02/2012 Time: 0238
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: HOONAH State: AK Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. HOONAH, AK
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 0 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Business Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: JUNEAU, AK (AL05) Entry date: 08/03/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=8200M
A search and rescue effort to find a missing plane between Juneau and Gustavus Thursday is now a recovery mission.
A crew from Juneau-based Coastal Helicopters spotted wreckage from the Air Excursions Piper Cherokee at about 3 o’ clock Thursday afternoon. A Juneau Mountain Rescue team later found the pilot’s body at the crash site, near Point Howard 23 miles west of Juneau. He was the only one on board.
Coast Guard Lieutenant Ryan Erickson says an MH-60 Jayhawk from Air Station Sitka dropped the JMR team as close as it could get to the wreckage.
“We ended up having to drop them about a half mile away or so, couldn’t get them any closer just because of the terrain, it was so steep,” Erickson says. “And once they got on scene they were able to verify it was the plane that was missing.”
Erickson would not release any information about the pilot, though he says family has been notified.
A woman who answered the phone at Air Excursions’ Juneau office declined to comment. The company provides flight seeing and scheduled service in several northern Southeast communities.
The Coast Guard has offered to assist Alaska State Troopers with recovery on Friday.
The plane was reported missing about 9:15 Thursday morning. It had been en route from Juneau to Gustavus, and was due to arrive at 8:55 a.m. The pilot last made contact with flight service around 8:47.
The Coastal helicopter and Jayhawk conducted the initial aerial search, joined later by Civil Air Patrol. Troopers coordinated with Juneau Mountain Rescue on the ground search.
Erickson says low clouds and rain hampered their efforts throughout the day.
http://www.ktoonews.org/2012/08/02/update-searchers-locate-wreckage-of-missing-plane-pilot-dead/
The Coast Guard and Juneau Mountain Rescue have located the wreckage of a missing small plane in near Juneau Thursday.
The pilot, who has yet to be identified, died in the crash.
“It is extremely unfortunate that we were unable to rescue the pilot and our deepest condolences go out to his family,” said Lt. Ryan Erickson, Sector Juneau incident management division chief. “We thank all the personnel who have taken part in the search.”
Members of Juneau Mountain Rescue (JMR) were called in to help the U.S. Coast Guard search for the missing plane today near Point Howard, west of Juneau.
Ericksonsaid in a phone interview that a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter departed with JMR members onboard around 2:40 p.m.
A private Coastal Helicopters crew from Juneau located the wreckage at about 3 p.m. near Point Howard in the Tongass National Forest 23 miles west of Juneau. The Coast Guard rescue helicopter delivered a four-man Juneau Mountain Rescue team to the ground approximately one half mile from the crash site. Upon arrival to the crash site at about 4:24 p.m. they located the pilot of plane, deceased.
Helicopters already searching in the area are unable to fly above 300 feet due to low visibility, Erickson said.
“We did have some helicopters fly up in the area that said the weather was really snotty,” Erickson said. “The cloud level was really low around 300 feet in some of the areas, and that’s why we offered to get the ground rescue out there as well.”
Civil Air Patrol aircraft and a helicopter from Coastal Helicopters in Juneau are also assisted in the search.
The Coast Guard said in an earlier release that a white and teal Piper Cherokee from Air Excursions LLC was overdue on a flight from Juneau to Gustavus at about 9:17 a.m.
The aircraft and the pilot, who was the only person reported on board, were due in Gustavus at 8:55 a.m. and were last heard from at 8:47 a.m., near Point Howard.
“Our last communication with them was definitely over land,” Erickson said, adding that air traffic controllers with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Flight Service Station did a routine check-in before they lost signal and the radar picture.
Erickson said he did not know if the pilot at that point reported anything out of the ordinary.
Air Excursions could not be immediately reached for comment.
Air Excursions is a company that offers flight-seeing tours of Southeast Alaska and offers scheduled service from Juneau to Gustavus, Hoonah, Haines, Skagway and Kake, according to its website.
http://juneauempire.com/local/2012-08-02/pilot-dies-plane-crash#.UBvInJb3u70
ANCHORAGE, Alaska— In Southeast Alaska, the Coast Guard and a civilian helicopter are searching for a missing plane last seen near Point Howard Thursday morning.
A white and teal Piper Cherokee from Air Excursions, LLC with only the pilot on board was en route from Juneau to Gustavus and reported missing around 9:17 a.m., according to the Coast Guard.
The plane was scheduled to arrive at 8:55 a.m. and was last heard from around 8:47 a.m. near Point Howard.
A helicopter from the Juneau-based Coastal Helicopters and a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka are searching for the plane.
“Small plane traffic is very common in Alaska and we take any report of lost communications with an aircraft very seriously,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Burleson, a Sector Juneau search and rescue controller. “We have launched a helicopter to investigate and welcome the assistance from Coastal Helicopters who are also searching.”
http://www.ktuu.com
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