C.R. Sherman, Chief Pilot for Maverick Airlines, speaks to students from Rancho High School’s aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick’s Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
Jim Ogletree, Chief Pilot for Maverick Aviation, speaks to students from Rancho High School’s aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick’s Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
Greg Rochna, founder and president of Maverick Aviation, speaks to students from Rancho High School's aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick's Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
Tim Hoffman, Quality Assurance Manager for Maverick Aviation, speaks to students from Rancho High School’s aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick’s Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
Tattoos are forbidden. That’s the first rule of Greg Rochna’s brand of aviation is that tattoos are forbidden.
“Get arrested for pot, guess what happens?”
The stocky, barrel-chested former Army helicopter pilot points past his captive audience of Rancho High School aerospace engineering students at a big metal door.
“There’s the door. Walk out, because that’s the end of your career,” his voice booms around his hangar at Henderson Executive Airport.
That’s the second rule.
Today was field trip day for this group of quiet students with closely cropped haircuts and matching clean white polo shirts. Rancho High School’s aviation program is one of very few like it in the country. It has a partnership with Embry-Riddle, the “Harvard of the sky,” and gives roughly 400 students each year free access to training programs, equipment and opportunities that would otherwise out of their financial reach.
Right now, that means a tour of a slice of Rochna’s empire: Maverick Aviation Group.
Every year Maverick’s fleet of sleek EC130 Eurocopters, Beechcraft and Cessna airplanes take 275,000 people on whirlwind tours of the Grand Canyon and the Las Vegas Strip.
Business is booming, and the company has one message.
“We’re never not hiring,” said Bryan Kroten, the company’s vice president of marketing. Around 400 employees work at five locations in Nevada and Arizona and Hawaii.
According to Kroten, there’s a shortage of qualified mechanics and pilots in the state. But the company is not looking for just any pilot. They’re looking for pilots with “persona,” who can not only fly planes but who can deliver “bucket list moments” to the paying public.
After all, this is an industry where businesses live and die based on reviews on sites like TripAdvisor. A large “no mistakes” banner at the top of the hangar underscores the company’s approach.
And the students are getting a crash course.
“What makes a helicopter fly?” Jim Ogletree, one of the company’s chief pilots, asks a group of students standing next to a helicopter.
A student points to the machine’s engine. Ogletree shakes his head.
“Money,” he says. The students laugh.
Throughout the day, the students piled into cockpits, maintenance bays and engine rooms, asking questions and gawking at the company’s collection of state-of-the-art aircraft equipment and vast library of spare parts.
Their teacher is James Pemberton, a 43-year-old former Air Force mechanic who fell in love with airplanes while watching his grandfather work on DC-3’s in Puerto Rico.
“I’ve always been enchanted by aircraft,” he said. He did active duty in Europe, Asia and South America, recovering crashed planes and helicopters.
“We picked up whatever went down,” he said.
But with the exception of going into the military, the path into the pilot’s seat for most young people, especially the type of low-income minority students that populate schools like Rancho, isn’t as easy as it used to be. General aviation, a common entry point into flying for the civilian world, has been on a sharp decline due to rising costs associated with flying and owning planes. The number of private pilots fell 10 percent from 2000 to 2013, as did the number of relatively cheap, single-engine planes. That leaves specialized programs, mostly in schools like Rancho and technical colleges, the only viable alternative for students who want to earn their wings.
“Some of these students may have caught the bug, but they don’t know how to get there,” Pemberton said. “It can be a little hard getting them to focus, but the ones who stick with it will absolutely make it."
Original article can be found here: http://lasvegassun.com
Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris ended its direct-flight service from Phoenix to sister city Hermosillo, but will add another destination south of the border in late May, according to the airline.
In late November, Volaris began offering two non-stop flights per week to Hermosillo, a manufacturing hub and capital of neighboring Sonora state. But Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport officials confirmed on Thursday that service between the two cities with this airline ended in March.
However, the Mexico City-based company announced that in its place, it would add non-stop flights starting on May 27 from Phoenix to Culiacán, a city of nearly 1 million people in Sinaloa, one of the states hit hardest by drug violence.
In a statement, an executive for Volaris cited safety as a factor for the new route, which no other airline offers.
"It's proof of our commitment to provide more and better travel options... so that our clients in Culiacán can have better experiences while visiting their friends and family in Phoenix in a safe and efficient way, without having to drive over 20 hours," Miguel Aguiñaga said.
The most recent travel warning from the Department of State calls on U.S. citizens to avoid non-essential travel to most of Sinaloa state, which houses "one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations," the cartel of the same name.
Nonetheless, the representative for the city of Phoenix in Mexico said this new route presents an opportunity for Arizona to become a tourist and business destination for Mexican visitors who so far had been unable or unwilling to make the trip by car or bus.
"It will place Phoenix as a welcoming destination that is open to visitors from other places," Jose Andres Garcia said. "It's not that far (by car), but the topic of security had been an obstacle."
Visitors can purchase the 60-minute flight starting at $90.99 one way. There will be two flights per week, on Fridays and Mondays, beginning on May 27. But there is no guarantee it will remain in place.
Volaris landed at Sky Harbor in 2013 and began offering non-stop flights to Mexico City and Guadalajara. But about six months later, it cancelled service to Mexico City. Volaris continues offering flights three times a week to Guadalajara, and from there to about 40 other cities within Mexico.
"Sometimes airlines need to test markets to find the right fit," Phoenix Assistant Aviation Director Deborah Ostreicher said. "What is clear is that Phoenix and Volaris are committed to each other and we wish the airline great success on this route to Culiacan."
Despite the challenges, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton welcomed the announcement and said the city remains committed to forging closer ties to Mexico.
"With so many connecting opportunities both here at Phoenix Sky Harbor and at the Culiacan International Airport, we will see not only visitors between our two cities, but this route will also serve as an excellent connection opportunity for travelers,” he said.
Sky Harbor still offers direct flights to Hermosillo and Mexico City through American Airlines.
Original article can be found here: http://www.azcentral.com
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
NTSB Identification: CEN16FA145
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Midlothian, TX
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/31/2017
Aircraft: BELLANCA 7GCBC, registration: N5046N
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor.
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.
The flight instructor was demonstrating a takeoff to the student pilot in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. During the takeoff, the instructor was flying the airplane and was seated in the rear seat, with the student pilot observing and following along on the flight controls in the front seat. The instructor stated that, as the airplane lifted off the runway, he could not move the control stick. The airplane continued to climb in an increasingly nose-high pitch attitude, and the instructor stated that his efforts to apply forward pressure on the control stick had "no effect." The airplane subsequently experienced an aerodynamic stall and impacted the ground.
Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and examination of the flight controls found no evidence of interference. While the flight instructor expected the student pilot to follow along on the control stick, it could not be determined if the student interfered with the movement of the controls. With the instructor unable to move the elevator control and reduce the nose-high pitch attitude of the airplane, the airplane exceeded its critical angle of attack and experienced an aerodynamic stall.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The flight instructor's inability to move the control stick after takeoff for undetermined reasons, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and inadvertent aerodynamic stall. The reason for the inability to move the control stick could not be determined, because postaccident examination revealed no evidence of flight control malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Jack Randolph Bryant
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Irving, Texas
Lycoming Engines; Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N5046N
NTSB Identification: CEN16FA145
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Midlothian, TX
Aircraft: BELLANCA 7GCBC, registration: N5046N
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor.
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.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On April 8, 2016, at 1502 central daylight time, a Bellanca 7GCBC airplane, N5046N, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain near Mid-Way Regional Airport (JWY), Midlothian, Texas. The student pilot was fatally injured and the flight instructor sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to a private individual and was operated by Big Q Aviation, Midlothian, Texas, as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane was departing JWY at the time of the accident.
The accident flight was the instructor's second flight of the day in the accident airplane; he stated that had experienced no anomalies with the airplane during the previous flight on the day of the accident. The flight was the student pilot's second flight lesson; the first was with a different instructor. The instructor stated that he and the student conducted a preflight inspection, which included inspection and operation of the flight control surfaces. After completing the preflight inspection, the student sat in the front seat and the instructor sat in the rear seat; they then taxied the airplane to the runway for takeoff. The instructor did not remember performing a flight control check before takeoff. He initiated the takeoff with the student pilot following along on the control stick. As the airplane lifted off the runway, the flight control stick "wasn't moving." The airplane continued to climb in an increasingly nose-high pitch attitude, and the instructor's efforts to apply forward pressure on the control stick had "no effect." He stated that the airplane was "well above" a 45° nose-up pitch attitude when the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall and subsequently impacted the ground. The instructor stated that, due to the tandem seating configuration, he could not see if the student was inadvertently interfering with movement of the control stick.
A witness reported that, after takeoff, the airplane entered a nose-up climb to about 50 feet above ground level, followed by a sudden roll to the left, then to the right, followed by a steep nose-down descent. Video images from a security camera about 700 ft to the west showed that, at the time of impact, the airplane was in a left-wing-low, nose-down attitude of about 45°. The airplane came to rest upright, and several witnesses quickly responded to give aid and assistance to the two occupants. There was a fuel spill but no postimpact fire.
PILOT INFORMATION
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The 2-seat, tandem, high-wing, tailwheel-equipped, single-engine airplane was manufactured in 1979. Flight controls were installed at both seat locations.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The airplane impacted the infield grass between the runway and the taxiway. A ground scar, about the length of the left wing, was found just before a shallow crater. The airplane's propeller was found outside of the crater and more ground scarring and debris led to the main wreckage.
The main wreckage consisted of the entire airplane and the engine. All major components remained attached to their mounts. The left wing leading edge was crushed rearward starting at the wing strut and the outer portion of the wing was deformed upward. The right wing was also crushed rearward starting at the wing strut, but lacked upward damage to its wingtip. The cabin area of the fuselage was distorted. The engine remained attached to the mounts and was bent upward.
The instrument panel was crushed aft toward to the front cockpit seat. The rear seat was relatively undamaged. The empennage, elevator, and rudder were not damaged. The elevator trim was fully deflected trailing edge down. Examination of the airframe found that all flight controls remained securely fastened, and control continuity was established from the cockpit to the flight control surfaces. A thorough inspection of the control linkages and tubing did not find any evidence of jammed flight control, nor evidence of a foreign body obstructing the flight controls. The elevator trim cockpit control was damaged, and the elevator trim cables displayed slack. However, a photo of the airplane taken just before departure showed no evidence of a fully deflected elevator trim surface.
The engine examination revealed engine valvetrain continuity and thumb compression to all cylinders. All screens were found clear of debris. The left magneto sparked at three of its outlets; the fourth outlet was impact-damaged. The right magneto sparked at all outlets. The carburetor was disassembled; fuel was found in the float chamber and the float was deformed. No preimpact anomalies were detected with the engine.
NTSB Identification: CEN16FA145
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Midlothian, TX
Aircraft: BELLANCA 7GCBC, registration: N5046N
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor.
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 April 8, 2016, at 1502 central daylight time, a Bellanca 7GCBC, single-engine airplane, N5046N, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain during initial climb at Mid-Way Regional Airport (KJWY), Midlothian, Texas. The student pilot was fatally injured and the flight instructor sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to a private individual, and was operated by Big Q Aviation; Midlothian, Texas, as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed and a flight plan had not been filed. At the time of the accident the airplane was departing KJWY for a local flight.
The airplane had returned from an earlier instructional flight with a different student pilot and was refueled with full fuel. After a demonstration to the new student pilot of a preflight inspection the flight instructor was seated in the rear seat and the student pilot was in the front seat. During the northbound takeoff from runway 36 the flight instructor was manipulating the controls, with the student pilot observing. The flight instructor reported that as the airplane lifted off the runway in a three-point attitude he discovered the elevator control was jammed and he was unable push forward on the control stick.
Witnesses reported that after takeoff the airplane entered a nose-up climb to about 50 feet above ground level, followed by a sudden roll to the left and a steep nose-down descent. Video images from a security camera about 700 feet to the west showed that at the time of impact the airplane was descending, left wing down, in a nose-down attitude of about 45 degrees. The airplane came to rest upright and several witnesses quickly responded to give aid and assistance to the two occupants. There was a significant fuel spill, but no postimpact fire.
At 1455 the automated surface observation system at JWY reported wind from 030 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky clear of clouds, temperature 22 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 3 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.22 inches of mercury.
=====
Two people were injured when a single-engine plane crashed Friday at Mid-Way Regional Airport in Ellis County.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said a flight instructor and student were doing some kind of training exercise in a Bellanca Citabria aircraft when the plane went down at the airport at about 3:11 p.m.
Both people were transported from the scene with serious injuries, the FAA said.
The airport is halfway between Midlothian and Waxahachie along state Highway 287.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what led to the crash.
Story and video: http://www.nbcdfw.com
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
NTSB Identification: ANC16FA017
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Angoon, AK
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/23/2017
Aircraft: CESSNA 206, registration: N50159
Injuries: 3 Fatal, 1 Serious.
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.
The commercial pilot was conducting a commercial on-demand flight between two villages over open water in an amphibious float-equipped airplane before navigating through mountainous terrain. As the airplane approached the usual route company pilots took through the mountains, the accident pilot relayed to the operator's director of operations via airborne communications that he was unable to make it through the pass due to low clouds and reduced visibility and that he was going to try an alternate route over lower terrain. After the director of operations determined that the airplane did not arrive at its destination, search and rescue efforts ensued. The airplane was subsequently found in an area of rising steep mountainous, snow-covered terrain at an elevation of about 2,240 ft mean sea level in a near-vertical attitude.
A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. GPS data for the accident flight showed the airplane making a total of five 360° turns in various locations in cloud-obscured, mountainous terrain while attempting to make it to the destination; the last turn was made shortly before impact. Based on the conversation the pilot had with the director of operations and the location of the wreckage, it is likely that the pilot thought he had taken a path over lower terrain but that he actually flew into a different valley which had higher-than-anticipated terrain, and then executed a 360° turn to gain altitude before continuing the flight. However, the airplane did not gain sufficient altitude to clear terrain, and it is likely that the pilot attempted another climb, which reduced the airspeed and led to the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack. The disposition of the airplane at the accident site was consistent with an aerodynamic stall and a right spin.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's inadvertent turn toward terrain that was higher-than-expected while trying to avoid poor visibility conditions and his subsequent attempt to clear terrain, which reduced the airspeed and led to the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall and spin.
Pilot David Robert Galla
~
Gregory Gene Scheff
Thomas Siekawitch
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Juneau, Alaska
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Continental Motors; Mobile, Alabama
Hartzell Propellers; Piqua, Ohio
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Sunrise Aviation Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N50159
NTSB Identification: ANC16FA017
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Angoon, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 206, registration: N50159
Injuries: 3 Fatal, 1 Serious.
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.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On April 8, 2016, about 0914 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious float-equipped Cessna 206 airplane, N50159, sustained substantial damage after impacting snow-covered, rising terrain about 17 miles southeast of Angoon Airport, Angoon, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Sunrise Aviation, Inc., Wrangell, Alaska, as a visual flight rules 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 commercial on-demand flight. The commercial pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries, and one passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the airport at the time of departure, and company flight-following procedures were in effect. The flight departed from Wrangell Airport, Wrangell, Alaska, about 0810, destined for Angoon. The area between Wrangell and Angoon consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous terrain.
During an interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) 4 days after the accident, Sunrise Aviation's Director of Operations stated that, while flying another company airplane, he spoke with the accident pilot over the company radio frequency. The accident pilot commented to the director of operations that, while en route to Angoon, he was unable to make it through Pybus Bay due to low clouds and reduced visibility and that he was going to try an alternate route over lower terrain. The director of operations added that, about 15 to 20 minutes after speaking with the accident pilot, he landed in Wrangell and noticed that the Spidertracks signal for the accident airplane was stationary in an area of mountainous terrain. (As part of their company flight-following procedures, Sunrise Aviation incorporated Spidertracks, which provided company management personnel with a real-time, moving map display of an airplane's progress.) He then called personnel at the Angoon Airport and was told that the flight had not arrived. Shortly after attempting to reach the pilot on his cell phone and over the company radio frequency, he received a phone call from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notifying him that the 406-Mhz emergency locator transmitter (ELT) assigned to the accident airplane was transmitting a signal.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notified the US Coast Guard (USCG) Air Station Sitka about the overdue airplane and the ELT signal transmitting along the accident pilot's anticipated flight route. About 1025, the USCG launched an MH-60 helicopter to search for the airplane. About 1054, the airplane's wreckage was located by a helicopter operated by Temsco Helicopters who then relayed the location to the USCG.
About 1117, the USCG crew located the airplane's wreckage in an area of steep mountainous, snow-covered terrain. However, due to hazardous weather and terrain conditions, the helicopter crew was unable to lower a rescue swimmer to the site, and the crew returned to Sitka to pick up rescue personnel from Sitka Mountain Rescue.
About 1355, the USCG helicopter crew returned to the accident site and landed the helicopter on an adjacent ridgeline. Members of Sitka Mountain Rescue and the USCG hiked to the accident site. Once on scene, they discovered that three of the airplane's occupants had died at the scene and that one occupant had survived the crash. The sole survivor was hoisted aboard the USCG helicopter and then transported to Juneau.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot, age 60, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and sea and instrument ratings. His most recent second-class medical certificate was issued on October 21, 2015, and contained the limitation that he must "possess glasses for near/intermediate vision."
No personal logbooks were located for the pilot. A review of company records revealed that the pilot had reported on his annual résumé, dated April 3, 2015, that his total flight experience was about 19,981 hours, 556 hours of which were in the previous 12 months.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The airplane was a Cessna 206 manufactured in 1972, and it was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-550 series engine. At the time of its last annual inspection, completed on February 17, 2016, the airplane had 14,028 hours in service.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
At 0410, the National Weather Service Alaska Aviation Weather Unit issued an area forecast for central Southeast Alaska, including the accident site, which forecast scattered clouds at 800 ft mean sea level (msl) with a broken-to-overcast ceiling at 2,000 ft msl. Layered clouds were forecast from 2,000 ft msl through flight level 250. Occasional broken ceiling to 2,000 ft msl and light rain were forecast with isolated ceilings below 1,000 ft msl and visibility to 4 miles in light rain and mist. An AIRMET for mountain obscuration due to clouds and precipitation had also been issued and was valid at the accident site at the accident time.
The closest weather reporting facility was Angoon Airport, about 17 miles northwest of the accident site. At 0856, Angoon Airport issued a METAR that reported, in part, calm wind; sky condition, broken clouds at 500 ft, overcast at 1,800 ft; visibility 7 statute miles; temperature 45° F, dew point 45° F; and altimeter setting 29.71 inches of Mercury.
(Refer to the Meteorology Group Chairman's Factual Report in the public docket for further weather information and weather camera images).
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The wreckage was located in an open area of snow-covered rising terrain at an elevation of about 2,240 ft msl. The impact area was sloped about 27°. The airplane impacted terrain in a near-vertical, nose down attitude and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.
The right wing remained attached to the fuselage, and the leading edge exhibited extensive spanwise leading edge aft crushing. The right wing was displaced about 20° aft of the airplane's lateral axis.
The left wing remained attached to the fuselage at the forward attachment point and exhibited minor impact damage. The left wing was displaced about 40° forward of the airplane's lateral axis.
The horizontal stabilizer, elevators, vertical stabilizer, and rudder remained relatively free of impact damage. The elevator trim actuator was measured to be about 1.5 inches, consistent with a neutral setting.
The rudder and elevator primary flight control cables were continuous from the cockpit controls to their respective flight control surfaces. The aileron primary flight control cable continuities were confirmed from the cockpit controls to their respective flight control surfaces with cable separations at the wing root area. All cable separations exhibited signatures consistent with tensile overload and recovery cuts.
The fuselage exhibited crushing damage under the rudder pedals from the floor upward. The top of the fuselage was severed laterally the width of the cabin at the wing forward spar attachment points. The aft fuselage exhibited signatures consistent with stretching on the left side with the location corresponding to compression damage on the right side.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Alaska State Medical Examiner, Anchorage, Alaska, conducted an autopsy of the pilot. The cause of death for the pilot was attributed to "multiple blunt force injuries."
The FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory performed toxicology testing of the pilot's specimens on July 06, 2016, which was negative for ethanol, drugs, and carbon monoxide.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
On October 18, 2016, an engine examination was performed by Continental Motors, Mobile, Alabama, under the supervision of the NTSB. Due to limited damage, an engine test run was conducted following the replacement of impact-damaged components. The engine was fitted with a test club propeller for the IO-550 series engine.
The engine started normally on the first attempt without hesitation or stumbling in the observed rpm. The engine rpm was advanced in steps for warm-up in preparation for full-power operation. The warm-up sequence was completed over 15 minutes before the engine throttle was advanced to the full-open position and then held for 5 minutes to stabilize. Throughout the test phase, the engine accelerated normally without any hesitation, stumbling, or interruption in power, and it demonstrated the ability to produce rated horsepower. During the engine test, the magnetos were checked, and a drop of 44 rpm was noted for the left magneto, and a drop of 32 rpm was noted for the right magneto.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
GPS Information
A Garmin 396 handheld GPS was found mounted on the instrument panel, and all cables were still attached. The unit was removed and sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC, for examination. Extracted GPS data for the accident flight included, in part, time, latitude, longitude, and GPS altitude. Groundspeed and course information were derived from the extracted parameters.
The GPS data indicated that the airplane departed Wrangell Airport at 1208:33 heading toward the southeast before turning to the northwest. The airplane continued on the northwesterly heading until crossing Beacon Point on Kupreanof Island and then turning west-northwest. The airplane continued on this heading until it entered Pybus Bay at 1,861 ft msl. The airplane then made four 360° turns, exited Pybus Bay while descending, and then leveled off about 215 ft msl. After exiting Pybus Bay, the airplane flew between Grave Island and Admiralty Island at 261 ft msl before entering Little Pybus Bay on a west-northwest heading at 940 ft msl. The airplane then turned 360° and continued heading west-northwest. The last recorded GPS data plot was at 1314:05 when the airplane was at 2,405 ft msl, heading 299°, and at 74 miles per hour.
A flight track map overlay and tabular data corresponding to the accident flight are available in the public docket for this accident.
NTSB Identification: ANC16FA017
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Angoon, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 206, registration: N50159
Injuries: 3 Fatal, 1 Serious.
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 April 8, 2016, about 0912 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious float-equipped Cessna 206 airplane, N50159, sustained substantial damage after impacting snow-covered, rising terrain about 17 miles southeast of the Angoon Airport, Angoon, Alaska. The airplane was operated by Sunrise Aviation, Inc., Wrangell, Alaska, as a visual flight rules (VFR) commercial on-demand flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. Of the four people on board, the commercial pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries, and one passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of departure, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight departed from the Wrangell Airport, Wrangell, about 0810, destined for Angoon.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), along with another NTSB aircraft accident investigator and members of Juneau Mountain Rescue, reached the accident site on the morning of April 9. The wreckage was in an open area of snow-covered rising terrain, at an elevation of about 2,240 feet mean sea level (msl). The impact area was sloped about 27 degrees. The airplane impacted the snow in a near vertical attitude and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.
The area between Wrangell and Angoon consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous terrain.
As part of their company flight following procedures, Sunrise Aviation incorporates Spidertracks, which provides company management personnel with a real-time, moving map display of the airplane's progress. In addition, the accident airplane was equipped with a digital, 406 MHz ELT that instantly transmits a distress signal to search and rescue satellites, thereby alerting rescue personnel within minutes of the location of the crash.
During an interview with the NTSB IIC on April 12, the operator's director of operations stated that while flying another company airplane, he spoke with the accident pilot on a company radio frequency. The accident pilot commented to the director of operations that while en route to Angoon, he was unable to make it through Pybus Bay due to low clouds and reduced visibility, and that he was going to try an alternate route that had a lower terrain elevation. The director of operations added that about 15-20 minutes after speaking with the accident pilot, he landed in Wrangell and noticed the Spidertracks signal was stationary, in an area of mountainous terrain. He then called personnel at the Angoon airport and was told the flight had not arrived, and attempts to contact the accident pilot on his cell phone and aircraft radio were unsuccessful. Shortly thereafter, he received a phone call from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notifying him of a broadcasting 406 Mhz emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal assigned to the accident airplane.
About 1025, after being notified of an overdue airplane, and after learning about reports of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal along the accident pilot's anticipated flight route, search and rescue personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka launched an HH-60 helicopter to search for the airplane.
About 1054, the airplane's wreckage was located by a helicopter operated by Temsco Helicopters.
About 1117, the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter located the airplane's wreckage in an area of steep mountainous, snow-covered terrain. However, due to hazardous weather and terrain conditions, the helicopter crew was unable to lower a rescue swimmer to the site, and the crew retuned to Sitka to pick up rescue personnel from Sitka Mountain Rescue.
About 1355, the HH-60 helicopter returned to the accident site and landed on an adjacent ridgeline, and members of Sitka Mountain Rescue and the Coast Guard hiked to the accident site. Once on scene, they discovered that three of the airplane's occupants died at the scene, and one had survived the crash. The sole survivor was hoisted aboard the Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter, and then transported to Juneau.
The airplane was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-550 series engine. A detailed examination is pending.
The closest weather reporting facility is Angoon Airport, about 17 miles northwest of the accident site. At 0956, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Angoon Airport was reporting in part: Wind calm; sky condition, few clouds at 2,300 feet, broken clouds at 4,200 feet; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 45 degrees F, dew point 43 degrees F; altimeter, 29.75 inHg.
JUNEAU EMPIRE - The pilot of the plane that crashed on southern Admiralty Island last Friday had said he was going to take an alternate route due to weather concerns, according to a preliminary accident report by the National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday morning.
An amphibious float-equipped Cessna 206 airplane, operated by Sunrise Aviation out of Wrangell, departed Wrangell around 8:10 a.m. on April 8 and went down on its way to Angoon around 9:12 a.m., killing three and leaving one in critical condition.
Pilot David Galla, 60, and passengers Greg Scheff, 61, and Thomas Siekawitch, 57 – all of Wrangell – died. Twenty-one-year-old Morgan Enright of Ketchikan survived, and as of noon Thursday, was still in critical condition at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.
During an interview with NTSB investigator Shaun Williams on April 12, Sunrise Aviation’s director of operations Tyler Robinson said that “while flying another company airplane, he spoke with (Galla) on a company radio frequency. (Galla) commented to (Robinson) that while en route to Angoon, he was unable to make it through Pybus Bay due to low clouds and reduced visibility, and that he was going to try an alternate route that had a lower terrain elevation,” the report stated.
About 15 to 20 minutes after talking with Galla, Robinson landed in Wrangell and noticed on a satellite tracking device that the Cessna’s signal was stationary in an area of mountainous terrain.
“(Robinson) then called personnel at the Angoon airport and was told the flight had not arrived, and attempts to contact (Galla) on his cell phone and aircraft radio were unsuccessful,” the report stated.
Robinson then received a phone call from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notifying him that the Cessna’s emergency locator transmitter signal was going off.
The amphibious float-equipped airplane, registered N50159 with the Federal Aviation Administration, sustained substantial damage after impacting snow-covered, rising terrain about 17 miles southeast of the Angoon, according to the report.
“The wreckage was in an open area of snow-covered rising terrain, at an elevation of about 2,240 feet mean sea level. The impact area was sloped about 27 degrees. The airplane impacted the snow in a near vertical attitude and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings,” the report stated.
The area between Wrangell and Angoon consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways and steep mountainous terrain.
About 10:25 a.m. on the day of the crash, the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka launched an MH-60 helicopter to search for the airplane. The airplane’s wreckage was located by a helicopter operated by Temsco Helicopters around 10:54.
The crew of a U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter located the airplane’s wreckage shortly after but, due to hazardous weather and terrain conditions, was unable to lower a rescuer to the site, and the crew retuned to Sitka to pick up rescue personnel from Sitka Mountain Rescue.
About 1:55 p.m., “the MH-60 helicopter returned to the accident site and landed on an adjacent ridgeline, and members of Sitka Mountain Rescue and the Coast Guard hiked to the accident site. Once on scene, they discovered that three of the airplane’s occupants died at the scene, and one had survived the crash. The sole survivor was hoisted aboard the Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter, and then transported to Juneau,” the report stated.
The NTSB’s investigator-in-charge, along with another NTSB aircraft accident investigator and members of Juneau Mountain Rescue, reached the accident site on the morning of April 9.
According to the report, the closest weather reporting facility is Angoon Airport, about 17 miles northwest of the accident site.
At 9:56 a.m., an aviation routine weather report from the Angoon Airport was reporting, “wind calm; sky condition, few clouds at 2,300 feet, broken clouds at 4,200 feet; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 45 degrees F, dew point 43 degrees F; altimeter, 29.75 inHg.”
A full NTSB report is scheduled to come out in 10 to 12 months.
Enright’s family has been posting updates on her medical condition on the Caring Bridge website. On Thursday around noon, an update read, “Morgan has opened her eyes a few times when instructed by the nurse (after her medications are reduced).” The day before, an update said Enright’s brain pressure monitor has been removed.
AK16024847
Location: Admiralty Island
Type: Aircraft Crash
On 4-8-16 at about at approximately 1022 hours, AST received a report from Sunrise Aviation that a Cessna 206 was overdue. Shortly thereafter, Alaska State Troopers were notified by the United States Coast Guard of an aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitter going off in the vicinity of Admiralty Island. A Temsco helicopter was able to respond to the area and it found wreckage in steep terrain. The United States Coast Guard also responded to the crash site. One person, reported to be Morgan Enright, 21 of Ketchikan, was transported from the scene alive but in need of medical attention. The extent of her injuries are unknown to Troopers. Three other people were on the aircraft and identified as the pilot, David Galla, 60 of Wrangell, and passengers Greg Scheff, 61 of Wrangell, and Thomas Siekawitch, 57 of Wrangell. Next of kin has been notified. The body recovery efforts for the three deceased individuals are ongoing. The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified.
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Three people died in the crash of a single-engine plane on Admiralty Island south of Juneau on Friday, according to Lance Ewers, a captain at Sitka Mountain Rescue. The only survivor, whom Alaska State Troopers identified as 21-year-old Morgan Enright of Ketchikan, was being flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment, according to a spokesman at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, where she was originally taken.
Troopers identified the victims as 60-year-old David Galla (the pilot), 61-year-old Greg Scheff and 57-year-old Thomas Siekawitch, all of Wrangell. Their families have been told of their deaths.
The Sunrise Aviation Cessna 206 had been flying from Wrangell to Angoon, Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Eggert said. It crashed in a snowy, mountainous area at an elevation of about 2,300 feet on the southeast end of the Island, Eggert said.
Sometime before 10 a.m. Friday, the plane’s emergency beacon went off, said Eggert, who did not immediately know the exact timing of the crash.
When the beacon was activated, a commercial helicopter diverted its course and found the wreckage while the Coast Guard launched its own helicopter from Air Station Sitka.
The Coast Guard’s helicopter was unable to land due to the terrain, so it returned to Sitka to pick up members of the Sitka Mountain Rescue group. The helicopter returned to the crash site and lowered the rescuers to the ground, Eggert said.
“At this time we don’t have any indication as to what may have caused this crash,” Eggert said.
Lucy Robinson at Sunrise Aviation confirmed that the company owns the plane that crashed. She doesn’t work there but is helping field phone calls Friday because it's a family business, and said Sunrise isn’t commenting right now on the crash.
Corporate records show that the pilot, David Galla, was also a vice president of Sunrise Aviation.
National Transportation Safety Board region chief Clint Johnson said the agency would send two investigators to Juneau: Shaun Williams from Anchorage and Josh Cawthra from Seattle.
“We’ve been led to believe this airplane is in a very challenging area as far as the topography,” Johnson said.
Morgan Enright, the passenger who survived the crash, is an equipment operator at Ketchikan Ready-Mix and Quarry, according to manager Hope Burnette.
Enright was headed to Angoon to work on a ferry terminal project. She and other employees had flown there before, though Burnette did not know if any of the flights were direct like Friday’s. There were no other employees aboard the plane, Burnette said.
Morgan Enright is the daughter of Ketchikan Ready-Mix and Quarry’s owner Loren Enright.
“She’s a fabulous, happy person,” Burnette said. “She’s strong and we’re sure she’s going to be OK.”
Ewers, the rescue group captain, said it will take more time to remove the bodies of the three victims.
"We’ll be working into the night for certain, working with the Coast Guard and the troopers to get this situation resolved," said Ewers on Friday afternoon. "Looking like it’s going to be an extended recovery of the three folks who didn’t make it through the crash. We are preparing developing plans to go back to the scene tomorrow to get our team members home tonight. So we can get back in there and extract the other three."
Original article can be found here: http://www.adn.com
Alaska State Troopers have identified the three people killed in the plane crash as 60-year-old David Galla, 61-year-old Greg Scheff and 57-year-old Thomas Siekawitch. All three were from Wrangell.
According to troopers Galla was identified as the pilot of the plane. Efforts to recover all three bodies are ongoing, troopers wrote in a dispatch posted online.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Clint Johnson said the agency will be sending two investigators to respond to the crash. An Alaska-based investigator is scheduled to arrive in Juneau at around 7:15 p.m. A second investigator is being sent in from Seattle.
UPDATE 5:15 p.m.:
A 21-year-old woman was found alive at the site of today's small plane crash in Southeast Alaska, state troopers say. The three other people on board the Cessna 206 were killed.
Morgan Enright had been flying to the Tlingit village of Angoon to work on a ferry terminal project, her family told KTUU. Discovered at the crash site by the Sitka Mountain Rescue group, she was flown by helicopter to Kake and then to Juneau for treatment, said rescue group captain Lance Ewers.
“It’s just an amazing story of survival," Ewers said. "I do not know her medical status, condition. I do know that she’s alive."
The Cessna struck steep terrain on the south side of Admiralty Island.
“It’s looking like it’s going to be an extended recovery of the three folks that didn’t make it through the crash," he said.
Troopers have not publicly identified the deceased.
UPDATE: Ketchikan business asks for prayers as searchers look for survivors
The manager of a Ketchikan concrete contractor said the flight that crashed today on Admiralty Island was headed to Angoon. One of her family members is among the passengers, she said.
"She was headed to work. We're building a ferry terminal in Angoon," said Hope Burnette, of Ketchikan Ready Mix & Quarry. Burnette said Alaska State Troopers called to inform her about the crash.
Burnette did not know if the Cessna 206 was a charter or scheduled flight. She said she believes the flight originated in Wrangell. Others were on board, but she did not know their names.
Troopers did not know the condition of the pilot or passengers, she said.
The passenger's father and uncle were already in Angoon and had been waiting for the flight to arrive, Burnette said. "And it didn't come."
“We just wish for people to pray that everybody’s OK," she said. "Because at this point, that’s what we’re doing."
Wreckage of the plane has been spotted about 20 miles southeast of Angoon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard, along with a commercial air crew and Sitka Mountain Rescue members are searching for survivors.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A Cessna 206 airplane believed to be carrying four people, crashed Friday morning in southern Admiralty Island, a Coast Guard spokesman tells KTUU.
The Coast Guard received an alert from the emergency beacon of the downed aircraft before 10 a.m. Friday, said Petty Officer First Class Shawn Eggert. The condition of the pilot and passengers was unknown as of about 1 p.m.
A private Temsco helicopter that had been flying in the area had diverted to search for the plane and found it about 20 miles southeast of Angoon, crashed at an elevation of 2,300 feet, Eggert said.
Angoon Mayor Albert Howard told KTUU that the plane was headed to his Southeast Alaska village.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Sitka flew to the area but was unable to land. The Coast Guard plans to fly members of Sitka Mountain Rescue and attempt to lower them to the crash site, to search for survivors, Eggert said.
The Juneau Empire reports that the aircraft is registered to Sunrise Aviation of Wrangell, based on information from a Coast Guard employee in Juneau.
A man who answered the phone at Sunrise Aviation said he did not know details of the flight, and more information would be available later today. "The people that know everything are all out in the air right now," he said.
Original article can be found here: http://www.ktuu.com
The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that three people died in a Friday morning plane crash in southeast Alaska. Twenty-one-year-old Morgan Enright, of Ketchikan, was the only survivor, Alaska State Troopers said. The two agencies, with the Sitka Mountain Rescue Group and National Transportation Safety Board, responded to incident.
Troopers identified the three deceased as pilot David Galla, 60, and passengers Greg Scheff, 61, and Thomas Siekawitch, 57, all of Wrangell.
The extent of Enright’s injuries were immediately unknown.
According to troopers, at 10:22 a.m. Sunrise Aviation reported a Cessna 206 overdue. A short time later, the U.S. Coast Guard notified troopers of an aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitter going off in the vicinity of Admiralty Island.
According to the Coast Guard, the six-passenger Cessna was en route to Angoon from Wrangell when it crashed with four people on board on the southern end of Admiralty Island, about 20 miles south of Angoon.
A Temsco helicopter found the plane in steep terrain, troopers wrote in an online dispatch.
When rescuers found Enright, they were “flabbergasted,” according to Sitka Mountain Rescue captain Lance Ewers, who spoke with KTVA shortly after returning to Sitka Friday. He said they were searching for any sign of life.
“There was zero signs of life,” Ewers explained. “No movement whatsoever. When we finally got boots on the ground and started getting people in the airplane, is when we realized that there was a patient. That somebody had survived.”
According to Ewers, the plane was “torn apart” and had wrecked in waist deep snow.
“They recognized that one of the passengers in the plane was alive and then, of course, everything stopped because now priority is to the person who needs the medical attention,” Ewers said.
The Coast Guard also dispatched their MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka, but it was unable to land at the crash site because of weather, the Coast Guard said.
“They would have liked to have landed at the crash site to conduct that search, but because of the heavy snow that was still in the area, as well as the heavy winds, they had to return — to Sitka to deploy that mountain rescue team,” Eggert explained.
The recovery efforts of the three other passengers are ongoing.
The Sitka Mountain Rescue is expected to return to the crash site Saturday to recover the three bodies.
A NTSB investigator was expected to arrive at the crash site Friday afternoon.
Original article can be found here: http://www.ktva.com
The sole survivor of a plane crash on Admiralty Island will be transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Bartlett Regional Hospital representative Jim Strader said 21-year-old Morgan Enright’s condition was listed as “guarded” around 6:45 p.m.
A nursing supervisor said shortly before 9 p.m. that Enright was not yet at Harborview but that she was expected to arrive at some point in the night.
-Jennifer Canfield
Update | 6:58 p.m.
The Alaska State Troopers have identified the victims of the plane crash in an online dispatch. All three are from Wrangell.
David Galla, 60
Greg Scheff, 61
Thomas Siekawitch, 57
Morgan Enright, 21, of Ketchikan, was identified as the sole surviving passenger. Earlier reports say she was transported to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. Troopers do not know the extent of her injuries.
According to the troopers dispatch, next of kin have been notified and recovery efforts for the bodies of the deceased are ongoing.
Troopers say they received a report from Sunshine Aviation at around 10:22 a.m. that their Cessna 206 was overdue. Shortly after, troopers were notified by the U.S. Coast Guard that an emergency locater transmitter was going off near Admiralty Island.
A Temsco helicopter responded to the transmission and found the crash site in “steep terrain.” The Coast Guard also went to the site. The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the crash and will investigate.
-Jennifer Canfield
Update | 4:38 p.m.
Three are dead after a plane registered to a Wrangell-based charter airline crashed on Admiralty Island Friday.
Four people were traveling on a Sunrise Aviation Cessna 206 between Wrangell and Angoon. Only one female passenger survived, according Sitka Mountain Rescue Captain Lance Ewers.
The Coast Guard received an emergency alert in the morning indicating the aircraft was in distress.
A Coast Guard helicopter located the downed plane 20 miles southeast of Angoon, but was unable to land due to turbulent winds. Members of Sitka Mountain Rescue were called in. Ewers said the team was dropped off 600 yards below the wreckage, which is located in snowy, alpine terrain.
“To everyone’s disbelief, they found one of the four passengers was alive,” Ewers said. “Then they immediately started mounting an effort to get her out of the plane where they could insert her into the helicopter.
Ewers is helping guide the team remotely from Sitka. The female survivor is being medevaced to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. Her medical condition in unknown.
State business licensing documents for Sunrise Aviation identify two owners: Tyler Robinson and David Galla. Both are listed with Wrangell mailing addresses.
FAA records show that both men are licensed commercial pilots.
Update | 4:08 p.m.
Lance Ewers, captain of Sitka Mountain Rescue, confirmed that three passengers on the flight did not survive. One passenger is being medevaced to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau.
Original story
A plane crashed on Admiralty Island Friday morning southeast of Angoon after departing from Wrangell. A search for survivors is underway.
The Coast Guard received a distress signal this morning, and a commercial aircraft located wreckage from a Cessna 206. The plane is registered to Sunrise Aviation, a charter flight company in Wrangell.
According to a Coast Guard news release, there were four passengers on board.
A Coast Guard helicopter was unable to land at the crash site, so a team from Sitka Mountain Rescue will conduct a ground search.
The flight was heading to Angoon.
Original article can be found here: http://www.ktoo.org
UPDATE 6:20 p.m.: Plane crash survivor Morgan Enright is being medevaced to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said Bartlett Regional Hospital spokesman Jim Strader.
UPDATE 5:55 p.m.: Alaska State Troopers released the names of the people who died in today's plane crash on Admiralty Island. According to an online trooper dispatch, they are David Galla, 60, Greg Scheff, 61, and Thomas Siekawitch, 57.
Galla was the pilot, and troopers said Scheff and Siekawitch were the passengers.
All three men lived in Wrangell. Next of kin have been notified.
The crash's sole survivor Morgan Enright arrived at Bartlett Regional Hospital around 5:15 p.m. BRH spokesman Jim Strader said Enright is in "guarded" medical condition and the team is working to evaluate the extent of her injuries.
Three people are dead after a plane crashed into southern Admiralty Island this morning, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. One survivor is being airlifted to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, said Coast Guard rescue controller Nick Meyer out of Sector Juneau.
“Our helicopter landed in Kake and is transferring the survivor to a Guardian flight,” he said.
Alaska State Troopers have identified the survivor as Morgan Enright, 21, of Ketchikan. A Troopers news release said the extent of her injuries are unknown.
Enright is an equipment operator with Ketchikan Ready-Mix & Quarry, said manager at Ketchikan Ready-Mix & Quarry Hope Burnette earlier today.
“She was flying up to Angoon to work on the ferry terminal project,” she said.
The State of Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities is building a passenger facility at Angoon’s ferry terminal and is contracting with Ketchikan Ready-Mix & Quarry on the project, said DOT spokesman Jeremy Woodrow.
Enright is the daughter of Ketchikan Ready-Mix & Quarry owner Loren Enright, who owns the concrete and contracting business with his two brothers.
Burnette said Enright was in Wrangell and left on the Sunrise Aviation flight this morning and was due to arrive in Angoon around 10 a.m.
The body recovery efforts for the three deceased individuals are ongoing, according to the Troopers news release. Authorities have not yet released the names of the deceased.
The six-seat Cessna 206 crashed at an elevation of 2,300 feet near Pybus Bay on Admiralty Island.
A Coast Guard helicopter located the downed aircraft registered to Wrangell’s Sunrise Aviation around 11:25 a.m. but wasn’t able to get to it due to wind, Meyer said. The MH60 returned on scene at 2:20 p.m. with members of Sitka Mountain Rescue. Meyer described the terrain as “very steep.”
A helicopter from Temsco Helicopters located the Cessna first, but also wasn’t able to get to it, Meyer said.
The Cessna 206’s satellite beacon distress signal went off at 9:28 a.m. The Cessna 206 had departed Wrangell and was heading to Angoon, according to a Coast Guard news release.
One of the passengers on board the Cessna was 21-year-old Morgan Enright, Alaska Regional Chief for the National Transportation Safety Board Clint Johnson said two NTSB investigators are on their way to Juneau to begin investigation.
According to its website, Sunrise Aviation is a small, locally owned and operated air charter business owned by Dave Galla and Tyler Robinson, who are also pilots.
Original article can be found here: http://juneauempire.com
A plane registered to Sunrise Aviation, a Wrangell-based charter airline, crashed on Admiralty Island today (Friday).
Four people were traveling on the Cessna 206 between Wrangell and Angoon. Only one female passenger survived, said a search and rescue official.
The Coast Guard received an emergency alert in the morning, indicating the aircraft was in distress.
A Coast Guard helicopter located the downed plane, 20 miles southeast of Angoon, but was unable to land due to turbulent winds. Members of Sitka Mountain Rescue were called in to hike to the scene.
Capt. Lance Ewers said the team was dropped off 600 yards below the wreckage, which is located in snowy, alpine terrain.
“To everyone’s disbelief, they found one of the four passengers was alive. And then they immediately started mounting an effort to get her out of the plane where they could insert her into the helicopter,” he said.
Ewers is helping guide the team remotely from Sitka. The female survivor is being medevaced to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. Her medical condition in unknown at this time.
State business licensing documents for Sunrise Aviation identify two owners: Tyler Robinson and David Galla. Both are listed with Wrangell mailing addresses. FAA records show that both men are licensed commercial pilots.
C.R. Sherman, Chief Pilot for Maverick Airlines, speaks to students from Rancho High School’s aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick’s Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
Jim Ogletree, Chief Pilot for Maverick Aviation, speaks to students from Rancho High School’s aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick’s Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
Greg Rochna, founder and president of Maverick Aviation, speaks to students from Rancho High School's aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick's Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
Tim Hoffman, Quality Assurance Manager for Maverick Aviation, speaks to students from Rancho High School’s aeronautics program during a tour of Maverick’s Henderson Executive Airport facility, Friday April 8, 2016.
