Drew Edward Welty
The two pilots that died in the plane crash are identified as Timothy Cline, 43 of Homer, and Drew Welty, 29 of Anchorage. The passenger has been identified as Louie John, 49 of Manokotak.
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Anchorage, Alaska
Pratt & Whitney Canada; Montreal, MB
Hageland Aviation Services Inc; Anchorage, Alaska
Hartzell Propellers; Piqua, Ohio
Honeywell Aerospace; Phoenix, Arizona
Hageland Aviation; Anchorage, Alaska
Federal Aviation Administration Washington, District of Columbia
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N208SD
Location: Togiak, AK
Accident Number: ANC17MA001
Date & Time: 10/02/2016, 1157 AKD
Registration: N208SD
Aircraft: CESSNA 208B
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Defining Event: VFR encounter with IMC
Injuries: 3 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter - Scheduled
Analysis
The NTSB's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-18/02.
On October 2, 2016, about 1157 Alaska daylight time, Ravn Connect flight 3153, a turbine-powered Cessna 208B Grand Caravan airplane, N208SD, collided with steep, mountainous terrain about 10 nautical miles northwest of Togiak Airport (PATG), Togiak, Alaska. The two commercial pilots and the passenger were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The scheduled commuter flight was operated under visual flight rules by Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at PATG (which had the closest weather observing station to the accident site), but a second company flight crew (whose flight departed about 2 minutes after the accident airplane and initially followed a similar route) reported that they observed unexpected fog, changing clouds, and the potential for rain along the accident route. Company flight-following procedures were in effect. The flight departed Quinhagak Airport, Quinhagak, Alaska, about 1133 and was en route to PATG.
Probable Cause and Findings
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The flight crew's decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into deteriorating visibility and their failure to perform an immediate escape maneuver after entry into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).
Contributing to the accident were
(1) Hageland's allowance of routine use of the terrain inhibit switch for inhibiting the terrain awareness and warning system alerts and inadequate guidance for uninhibiting the alerts, which reduced the margin of safety, particularly in deteriorating visibility;
(2) Hageland's inadequate crew resource management (CRM) training;
(3) the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to ensure that Hageland's approved CRM training contained all the required elements of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations 135.330; and
(4) Hageland's CFIT avoidance ground training, which was not tailored to the company's operations and did not address current CFIT-avoidance technologies.
Findings
Aircraft
Altitude - Not attained/maintained (Cause)
Ground proximity system - Not used/operated
Ground proximity system - Related operating info
Ground proximity system - Capability exceeded
Ground proximity system - Design
Personnel issues
Decision making/judgment - Flight crew (Cause)
Lack of action - Flight crew (Cause)
Environmental issues
Below VFR minima - Decision related to condition (Cause)
Below VFR minima - Response/compensation (Cause)
Mountainous/hilly terrain - Response/compensation (Cause)
Mountainous/hilly terrain - Contributed to outcome (Cause)
VHF/HF radio - Not specified
Meteo equip coverage/avail - Not specified
Organizational issues
Adequacy of policy/proc - Operator (Factor)
CRM/MRM training - Operator (Factor)
CRM/MRM training - FAA/Regulator (Factor)
Training - Operator (Factor)
Safety programs - FAA/Regulator
Safety programs - Other institution/organization
Factual Information
The NTSB's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-18/02.
On October 2, 2016, about 1157 Alaska daylight time, Ravn Connect flight 3153, a turbine-powered Cessna 208B Grand Caravan airplane, N208SD, collided with steep, mountainous terrain about 10 nautical miles northwest of Togiak Airport (PATG), Togiak, Alaska. The two commercial pilots and the passenger were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The scheduled commuter flight was operated under visual flight rules by Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at PATG (which had the closest weather observing station to the accident site), but a second company flight crew (whose flight departed about 2 minutes after the accident airplane and initially followed a similar route) reported that they observed unexpected fog, changing clouds, and the potential for rain along the accident route. Company flight-following procedures were in effect. The flight departed Quinhagak Airport, Quinhagak, Alaska, about 1133 and was en route to PATG.
History of Flight
Enroute-cruise
VFR encounter with IMC (Defining event)
Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
Pilot Information
Certificate: Flight Instructor; Commercial
Age: 43, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: Unknown
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): Airplane Multi-engine; Airplane Single-engine; Instrument Airplane
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 2 Without Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 07/22/2016
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 07/07/2016
Flight Time: 6481 hours (Total, all aircraft), 781 hours (Total, this make and model), 6181 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 271 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 102 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 4 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft)
Co-Pilot Information
Certificate: Commercial
Age: 29, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Right
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: Unknown
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 2 None
Last FAA Medical Exam: 07/13/2016
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 09/03/2016
Flight Time: 273 hours (Total, all aircraft), 84 hours (Total, this make and model), 139 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 84 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 83 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 5 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft)
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Manufacturer: CESSNA
Registration: N208SD
Model/Series: 208B
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture:
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 208B0491
Landing Gear Type: Tricycle
Seats: 4
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 09/15/2016, AAIP
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 7449 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Turbo Prop
Airframe Total Time: 20562.1 Hours at time of accident
Engine Manufacturer: P&W
ELT: C126 installed, activated, aided in locating accident
Engine Model/Series: PT6-114A
Registered Owner: ICECAP LLC TRUSTEE
Rated Power: 675 hp
Operator: HAGELAND AVIATION SERVICES INC
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Commuter Air Carrier (135); On-demand Air Taxi (135)
Operator Does Business As: RAVN CONNECT
Operator Designator Code: EPUA
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: PATG, 20 ft msl
Observation Time: 1156 AKD
Distance from Accident Site: 11 Nautical Miles
Direction from Accident Site: 124°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Scattered / 3900 ft agl
Temperature/Dew Point: 7°C / 6°C
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 4700 ft agl
Visibility: 7 Miles
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: Calm
Visibility (RVR):
Altimeter Setting: 29.88 inches Hg
Visibility (RVV):
Precipitation and Obscuration: Light - Rain
Departure Point: QUINHAGAK, AK (PAQH)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: Company VFR
Destination: TOGIAK, AK (PATG)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1133 AKD
Type of Airspace: Class G
Airport Information
Airport: TOGIAK (PATG)
Runway Surface Type: N/A
Airport Elevation: 18 ft
Runway Surface Condition: Unknown
Runway Used: N/A
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width:
VFR Approach/Landing: None
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 2 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: Fire At Unknown Time
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: Explosion At Unknown Time
Total Injuries: 3 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 59.165556, -160.653333
NTSB Identification: ANC17FA001
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Sunday, October 02, 2016 in Togiak, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 208B, registration: N208SD
Injuries: 3 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. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 2, 2016, about 1154 Alaska daylight time, a turbine-powered Cessna 208B Grand Caravan airplane, N208SD, sustained substantial damage after impacting steep, mountainous, rocky terrain about 12 miles northwest of Togiak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as flight 3153 by Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., dba Ravn Connect, Anchorage, Alaska, as a scheduled commuter flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 and visual flight rules (VFR). All three people on board (two commercial pilots and one passenger) sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the Togiak Airport, Togiak, and company flight following procedures were in effect. Flight 3153 departed Quinhagak, Alaska, at 1133, destined for Togiak.
Earlier, flight 3153 had originated in Bethel, Alaska; made scheduled stops in Togiak and Quinhagak; and was scheduled to return to Togiak before returning to Bethel, the intended final destination for the day.
According to the director of operations for Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., about 1214, he received a notification from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) that it received a signal from a 406 megahertz (MHz) Emergency Location Transmitter (ELT), which activated about 1208 and was registered to N208SD. After accessing the aircraft location data provided by an on-board flight tracking system and discovering the aircraft had been stationary for about 20 minutes, the Hageland director of operations contacted the Hageland Operational Control Center (OCC) in Palmer, Alaska, to verify the information. At that time, the operator initiated a company search for the airplane.
At 1326, the Alaska State Troopers (AST) were notified by the RCC personnel of an ELT activation near the village of Togiak, within the confines of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.
Shortly before 1430, an AST helicopter was dispatched from Dillingham, Alaska, about 67 miles east of Togiak, to the coordinates associated with the ELT signal, but poor weather conditions kept the searchers from locating the accident airplane until about 1630. Alaska State Troopers were able to access the scene on foot shortly before 1730 and subsequently confirmed there were no survivors.
On October 3, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), along with another NTSB investigator and two Alaska State Troopers reached the accident site. The airplane's fragmented wreckage was located on the southeast side of a steep, loose rock-covered mountainside, adjacent to the Quigmy River, about 12 miles northwest of Togiak.
An area believed to be the initial impact point was discovered on the northwest side of a mountain ridgeline at the 2,300-foot level. The initial impact point was located north of and about 200 feet below the 2,500-foot mountain summit. The initial impact point contained fragmented portions of fuselage and two severed propeller blades. From the initial impact point, the wreckage path extended southeast to the main wreckage, which was located downslope on the southeast side of the ridgeline at the 1,550-foot level. The outboard portion of the left wing had separated and was located about 200 feet further downslope below the main wreckage site. A postcrash fire incinerated a large portion of the fuselage and right wing.
The airplane was equipped with a Spidertracks flight tracking system, which provides real-time aircraft flight tracking data. The flight tracking information is transmitted via Iridium satellites to an internet-based storage location at 6-minute intervals. According to the Spidertracks data, the airplane's last known location was reported at 1153, about 19 nautical miles northwest of the Togiak Airport, at an altitude of 1,043 feet, traveling at 144 knots across the ground, on a heading of 140 degrees.
At 1156, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Togiak Airport (the closest weather reporting facility) reported, in part: wind calm; visibility 7 statute miles; light rain; sky condition, scattered clouds at 3,900 feet, overcast at 4,700 feet; temperature 45 degrees F, dewpoint 43 degrees F; altimeter, 29.88 inHg.
A detailed wreckage examination is pending.
The airplane was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney PT6 series engine.
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Anchorage FSDO-03
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Sunday, October 02, 2016 in Togiak, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 208B, registration: N208SD
Injuries: 3 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. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 2, 2016, about 1154 Alaska daylight time, a turbine-powered Cessna 208B Grand Caravan airplane, N208SD, sustained substantial damage after impacting steep, mountainous, rocky terrain about 12 miles northwest of Togiak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as flight 3153 by Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., dba Ravn Connect, Anchorage, Alaska, as a scheduled commuter flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 and visual flight rules (VFR). All three people on board (two commercial pilots and one passenger) sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the Togiak Airport, Togiak, and company flight following procedures were in effect. Flight 3153 departed Quinhagak, Alaska, at 1133, destined for Togiak.
Earlier, flight 3153 had originated in Bethel, Alaska; made scheduled stops in Togiak and Quinhagak; and was scheduled to return to Togiak before returning to Bethel, the intended final destination for the day.
According to the director of operations for Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., about 1214, he received a notification from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) that it received a signal from a 406 megahertz (MHz) Emergency Location Transmitter (ELT), which activated about 1208 and was registered to N208SD. After accessing the aircraft location data provided by an on-board flight tracking system and discovering the aircraft had been stationary for about 20 minutes, the Hageland director of operations contacted the Hageland Operational Control Center (OCC) in Palmer, Alaska, to verify the information. At that time, the operator initiated a company search for the airplane.
At 1326, the Alaska State Troopers (AST) were notified by the RCC personnel of an ELT activation near the village of Togiak, within the confines of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.
Shortly before 1430, an AST helicopter was dispatched from Dillingham, Alaska, about 67 miles east of Togiak, to the coordinates associated with the ELT signal, but poor weather conditions kept the searchers from locating the accident airplane until about 1630. Alaska State Troopers were able to access the scene on foot shortly before 1730 and subsequently confirmed there were no survivors.
On October 3, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), along with another NTSB investigator and two Alaska State Troopers reached the accident site. The airplane's fragmented wreckage was located on the southeast side of a steep, loose rock-covered mountainside, adjacent to the Quigmy River, about 12 miles northwest of Togiak.
An area believed to be the initial impact point was discovered on the northwest side of a mountain ridgeline at the 2,300-foot level. The initial impact point was located north of and about 200 feet below the 2,500-foot mountain summit. The initial impact point contained fragmented portions of fuselage and two severed propeller blades. From the initial impact point, the wreckage path extended southeast to the main wreckage, which was located downslope on the southeast side of the ridgeline at the 1,550-foot level. The outboard portion of the left wing had separated and was located about 200 feet further downslope below the main wreckage site. A postcrash fire incinerated a large portion of the fuselage and right wing.
The airplane was equipped with a Spidertracks flight tracking system, which provides real-time aircraft flight tracking data. The flight tracking information is transmitted via Iridium satellites to an internet-based storage location at 6-minute intervals. According to the Spidertracks data, the airplane's last known location was reported at 1153, about 19 nautical miles northwest of the Togiak Airport, at an altitude of 1,043 feet, traveling at 144 knots across the ground, on a heading of 140 degrees.
At 1156, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Togiak Airport (the closest weather reporting facility) reported, in part: wind calm; visibility 7 statute miles; light rain; sky condition, scattered clouds at 3,900 feet, overcast at 4,700 feet; temperature 45 degrees F, dewpoint 43 degrees F; altimeter, 29.88 inHg.
A detailed wreckage examination is pending.
The airplane was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney PT6 series engine.
BETHEL – The Ravn Connect plane that crashed Oct. 2 was on an unusual route over the mountains between the Southwestern Alaska villages of Quinhagak and Togiak — a connection that only exists because of a U.S. Postal Service program that subsidizes the cost of air freight in rural Alaska.
It's a route that other air carriers didn't want. Yute Air, with smaller planes, considered it too risky. Grant Aviation, which flew it about a year before Ravn took over, says it didn't pay off.
Operators of stores that benefit from the postal subsidy say the routing doesn't work for them, either. Often, planes cannot fly over the mountains at all because of weather, which, in Quinhagak, means the shelves at the village store go empty.
The Postal Service designated Togiak as a hub for Quinhagak's goods in April 2014 to save money.
"That's something that the Post Office created," said Susan Hoshaw, director of cargo services for Everts Air Cargo. Once Togiak became a hub, Everts began transporting freight there twice a week direct from Anchorage in its big, Douglas DC-8s, she said. From there, Ravn picks up the goods for the rest of the journey to Quinhagak as part of the Alaska bypass mail program.
Before the federal agency acted, there was no regular commercial traffic between the two communities, according to air carriers. And there still aren't regularly scheduled passenger flights, though passengers can travel on the same small planes with the cargo.
The bypass mail isn't mail at all but rather bulk shipments – mainly groceries – going to rural villages and, as the name implies, bypassing the regular U.S. mail delivery system.
It's an expensive and controversial subsidy that dates to the 1970s, which supporters defend as the Alaska equivalent of government-funded highways. The lucrative bypass program, mandated by Congress, not only brings goods to Bush villages, it also keeps fares lower for passengers who otherwise often have no other way in or out.
So far this year, the service says it has delivered more than 83 million pounds of bypass mail across Alaska – and has lost almost $81 million doing so.
"Transporting mail to customers and post offices in remote areas of Alaska is a part of the Postal Service's universal service obligation," John Friess, a Denver-based spokesman for the agency, said in an emailed response to questions.
The route at issue is over the Ahklun Mountains, a far western range with small glaciers that are rapidly disappearing.
On Sunday, a Cessna 208B Caravan slammed into a nearly 2,500-foot peak near a GCI cell tower on what's known locally as Caribou Ridge, killing the two pilots and sole passenger on the flight from Quinhagak to Togiak.
The Ravn plane was operating under visual flight rules. When Alaska State Troopers arrived at the crash site later on Sunday, it was initially so foggy that they couldn't see the crumpled and charred fuselage.
Ravn officials have not answered questions about the purpose of the flight or the routing.
No mail was on the flight, according to the service. The plane was heading to Togiak to pick up store goods for a return trip to Quinhagak, according to Warren Jones, president of Qanirtuuq Inc., the village corporation that owns the Quinhagak store.
Back in 2014, the community of Quinhagak was caught unaware when the service decided to switch its freight hub, he said. Residents petitioned the service to keep it in Bethel, Jones said. Bethel still serves as the freight staging area for numerous other Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages.
"The move has cost us thousands of dollars because when the weather is bad, we don't get groceries," Jones said recently. "Our shelves are empty. We don't sell any of it."
Sometimes goods sit so long they run past their expiration date. Frozen chicken wings may arrive in what looks like a thawed-then-refrozen block, Jones said.
The service sent a representative to Quinhagak for a community meeting, but stuck with Togiak.
"All of a sudden we went from having three air carriers competing in hauling all the bypass mail from Bethel to Quinhagak to having one out of Togiak," said Dan Knesek, Yute Air's operations director.
After the community meeting, the service looked into the delivery concerns and made recommendations about product-ordering cycles, Friess said.
The Alaska Commercial Co., which runs the Togiak store, says the arrangement doesn't benefit its operation either.
Before, planes flew first to Dillingham, then went to Togiak. Dillingham, the hub for Bristol Bay, gets much more air traffic than Togiak, a village of about 800 people, so goods were assured of at least making it there, said Walt Pickett, AC's vice president of operations. It was a convenient staging area for the short flight to Togiak.
"We had absolutely nothing to do with it," he said of the change. "We didn't solicit it with the Post Office. We didn't solicit it with the Department of Transportation."
'A rough route'
While Togiak is in the Bristol Bay region, Bethel and Quinhagak are tightly connected Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities. The route between them is over low tundra. There are multiple passenger flights a day. Quinhagak still gets regular mail through Bethel. Alaska Native organizations based in Bethel serve Quinhagak.
"To get to Quinhagak is just always a challenge for us because it's on the Bethel side of the world," said Susanna Henry, the Dillingham-based manager of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. "We nearly always have to charter or go through Anchorage."
Quinhagak and Togiak are only about 72 miles apart, but the route is challenging.
"If you ever flew between these mountains there are some areas where the plane starts hitting every turbulence," Jones said. Look out the windows and "there are mountains on both sides."
Yute Air, with its six-passenger Cessna 207s compared to Ravn's bigger nine-passenger 208s, decided not to compete for postal business to Quinhagak.
"For us flying the 207s, we didn't want to do the route for safety reasons," Knesek said. The weather can turn marginal fast. "It's a rough route."
Plus, the route didn't attract passengers, he said.
Grant Aviation originally flew bypass mail between Togiak and Quinhagak but the company says the route wasn't profitable.
"All the passenger flow to Quinhagak comes from Bethel," said Bruce McGlasson, one of Grant Aviation's owners. "The Togiak-to-Quinhagak route was so inefficient that we just couldn't afford to fly it."
Ravn doesn't list Togiak as one of its destinations on its website. If someone from the Bethel region wants to go there, a reservation agent said Ravn puts the person on a list and calls when the next mail plane is headed that way.
Quicker to Togiak
Flight 3153 originated in Bethel, then flew to Quinhagak to pick up Louie John, a Bristol Bay fisherman from Manokotak near Dillingham. The afternoon of Oct. 2, it took off for Togiak. Besides John, Ravn pilots Timothy Cline, 43 of Homer, and Drew Welty, 29 of Anchorage, were killed in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board expects to release a preliminary report on the crash Tuesday.
While Togiak is a bypass mail hub, Quinhagak is the only Bush village served out of it, according to the service. Shippers must send at least 1,000 pounds to get the discounted postal rate of about $375 for that size load. The service, not the shippers or the retailers, then must pay the air carriers.
The savings come because agency was able to delete the Dillingham leg on the way to Togiak. That eliminates the expense of a separate small plane trip between Dillingham and Togiak.
"Togiak mail is now transported from the acceptance point in Anchorage directly to Togiak on more efficient mainline equipment rather than Bush aircraft which reduces transportation costs for the Postal Service," Friess said in an emailed response to questions.
Togiak alone, with about 800 people, didn't have enough goods to support the cargo flight, according to air carriers. But with goods for the village of Quinhagak and its 700 residents on the same plane from Anchorage, the arrangement penciled out.
Goodnews Bay is much closer to Togiak, but it's smaller and didn't have enough cargo, Knesek of Yute Air said.
Friess couldn't provide information on how much is saved by the routing.
Back in 2010 when the change was being proposed, the service projected it would save almost $800,000 a year.
Source: https://www.adn.com
No comments:
Post a Comment