more dead in Alaska

[akloon]

We're going to break another record this year in Alaska. Numbers of people dead from small airplane crashes (23 this year if we don't find the 4 in the Beaver in Southwest). My real job is flying helicopter search and rescue for the Alaska Air Guard and we found a crash yesterday about a half hour after it happened. Two people in what was a PA-11 (we think). Classic stall crash.
Please be careful out there, I've seen enough bodies this year. There was a great article in the Alaska Airmen's magazine on causes of the 'moose stall'.

[aero101]

Yes, very bad year and hunting season just getting started. Have they found the Beaver out of Katmai yet with the parks service passengers?

[akloon]

I just checked in and they still haven't found them.

[crbnunit]

Be interesting to see what kind of new regs the feds come up wtih after a year like this.

[akloon]

I'm more worried about insurance premiums than what the feds will do. If we stopped crashing good airplanes we wouldn't have this problem though. What is strange to me is that all of the pilots that have crashed in the past 6 weeks or so that I knew or knew of were very well respected for their skill and judgement. It's humbling.

[crbnunit]

Yea, being a low time pilot, that got my attention as well. Alaska is a hostile place to fly.

[crbnunit]

Some of the guys on the 4x4 board I wheel with are on helicopter crews. Thought you guys might like to see photos of the Blackhawk recovery. This bird went down trying to rescue the folks stranded on the Knik Glacier when their plane crashed.

[a64pilot]

There is a reason we used to call those things Lawn Darts.

[akloon]

Thanks for the photos! I spent a whole day trying to get through weather to get to the original crash victims. Then the next I went to Dillingham for that ordeal, spent all day Tuesday going down and back. As we landed in Anchorage I heard about the Army Guard rolling one over trying to do the same thing we were. I'm glad they weren't hurt!