Liam Ferguson purchased the North Pole, Alaska, airport (95Z) in May because he was looking for a suitable place to base his sonic drilling company. The equipment-heavy business requires a large footprint, and the 61-acre property was able to accommodate, with room to grow. The runway was icing on the cake.

• READ MORE: Delaware Ag Airport Sets Eyes on Growing GA Future

“When we started working in Fairbanks more often, I purchased a lot at an airstrip and ran my business out of my home there,” Ferguson said. “That was a temporary solution, and the goal was to find a block of land or a shop where we could move all of our equipment to. We looked around for about a year and the airport was for sale during this time. I thought that it was more than what we were looking for, but we started to entertain buying the airport because everything else was expensive, and I thought it would be cool as a pilot.

“Buying an airport seemed far-fetched and outside the realm of possibility, until we realized the potential that Bradley Sky Ranch had.” 

The property’s existing hangar building with dedicated office and shop space satisfied the needs of Ferguson’s business. In addition to improving the space, Ferguson has his attention focused on understanding what the future of the airport should look like.

• READ MORE: New GA Airport Near Las Vegas Has Its Eye on Space

“We have been trying to assess the place and then build from there,” he said. “Now that we have learned more about the airport, I feel like I have a pretty good long-term plan of what we are going to do. I am leaving the timeline pretty open-ended, The long-term plan is to provide rental hangars, basic maintenance services, and a full range of parking options to service local pilots. We are also talking about possibly adding an Airbnb and courtesy cars to help attract pilots to come visit. Camping spots will also be available.

“We could possibly sell some lots for hangar homes or develop some ourselves. We really do have a blank slate with this and will continue to grow it as long as we have support from the local aviation community.”

The condition of the runway at the time of purchase was satisfactory and required minimal work. After grading, compacting, and removing grass from the gravel/dirt surface, Ferguson shifted his attention elsewhere. 

“For phase one of improvements, I didn’t want to come in with all of these big plans, say we are going to do something, and have nothing change,” he said. “My goal for the summer was to talk to the people that are a part of the flying community here, to learn more about this place and get an idea of what should be improved.

“Part one is to clean up and renovate the hangar. Part two is to do dirt work on the taxiways and parking spots to improve drainage in the spring and open up more parking spots. This will also include fencing and general clean up. Part three is adding infrastructure like T-hangars, fuel, and an FBO.”

• READ MORE: Flight Training in the Scenic, Wild Last Frontier

Another key focus has been refurbishing the existing tie-downs at the airport, which had fallen into disrepair.

Ferguson advised that his commute from his hangar home to Bradley Sky Ranch is a paltry one-and-a-half-minute flight in his Cessna 205. His girlfriend and business partner, Maddy Thom, frequently joins the fray in her Cessna 150. There are currently 20 aircraft based at the airport.

The pair’s short-term goal for the airport is to stoke the energy that they’ve felt from current tenants and other Alaskan pilots. One of the ways that they plan to harness this shared enthusiasm for Bradley Sky Ranch’s future is by hosting an event at the end of the month. 

“The fly-in is going to be September 27-29, which is the first weekend after hunting season,” Ferguson said. “All of the pilots will be out of the bush at that time, and we’ve already gotten over 700 people signed up that are interested in coming to the event. This is the fourth year for the event and the second year that it’s being held here at this airport. It’s going to be something pretty big and will be a way to show people that we are cleaning up the airport. The goal is to include the community, and everyone is super excited.”

Notable aspects of the fly-in include food trucks, fire pits and camping, several live bands, and a pumpkin drop competition.

The post The Blank Slate of a North Pole Airfield appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

His flight training business, FLY8MA, moved with him to Big Lake, about an hour north of Anchorage. The company and its staff of full-time, experienced flight instructors invite adventure seekers to experience what flying in Alaska is like. 

“It’s not just about the training or getting a tailwheel endorsement—that’s a very lower 48 [way of thinking],” Kotwicki said. “The wilderness that you see here, even the best photographer and videographer can’t capture. It can only be experienced, and that’s what I want to provide for people that come here.”

Alaska is a land of extremes that attracts people who enjoy challenges, Kotwicki said. In that vein, he has spent a considerable amount of effort to transform his 115-acre property into a destination for flight training. 

“We get people that visit for a variety of reasons, whether to do flight training or a scenic tour with us in our Cessna 206 that we have on a Part 135 certificate,” Kotwick said. “So, we have pilots and nonpilots that come here and those that train with us, [and] most want to experience what flying in Alaska is like.They may want to fly a Cub on 35s [inch tires] while at the controls when landing on a mountaintop or landing on a crystal blue alpine lake in a Super Cub on floats with glaciers all around.

“So, we will work with them to the extent of what they want to do. And what I mean by that is we can show them a lot of cool stuff, or there may be a specific goal they are trying to achieve that we are going to train towards.” 

Kotwicki’s flight training company’s headquarters is based on the property, which is also home to FLY8MA Pilot Lodge Airport (57AK). There are two gravel runways and an under-construction control tower, in addition to short-term rental facilities used by students and other visitors. 

The first four overnight accommodations built on-site are standard one-bedroom, one-bathroom cabins. These units are modern and feature heated floors, but Kotwicki wanted to add some additional flavor to the airport. 

“I thought, ‘Well, what would be cooler than these cabins?’” he said. “‘We could get an airplane and turn it into a house.’ So, I spent about eight months calling around trying to find who would sell me an airplane. Finally, someone said yes but said that I would have to come and get it [a Douglas DC-6] right away or they would charge a ramp storage fee.

“During the long drive on the way to pick up the airplane I thought, ‘I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.'”

Cleaning, reconstructing, insulating, and furnishing the retired aircraft into its present state were aggravated by the cold Alaskan winters. In total, it took about two years between transporting the DC-6 (in pieces on a flatbed trailer) to its new home and the first guest being welcomed. 

Two more decommissioned transport category aircraft have since been added to the airport and its rental availability page, a Douglas DC-9 and a Boeing 727. 

The DC-6, for example, can accommodate up to six guests. There are two bedrooms, a living room, and a cockpit, complete with a coffee station and beer fridge. Where else can you sit behind the yoke with a cold one in hand? 

Guests’ fondness for the existing overnight aircraft rentals has inspired Kotwicki to add another retired airplane to the lineup. He just closed on a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, which he intends to turn into a summer-only rental that keeps most of the original systems inside intact.  

“This is a place to preserve the history of these aircraft and get you up close and personal, whether that be the avionics and controls of a 727 and all of the associated systems, or face to face with an 800-pound grizzly on a beach you flew to in a Super Cub with your flight instructor from our lodge,” Kotwicki said. “The experience of getting to touch and feel every inch of the aircraft, walk around outside to poke your head up in the avionics bay or gear bays, see all of the systems, or just the novelty of barbecuing steaks on the wing deck, [it’s an] experience [those who visit] all say is simply one of a kind.”

The post Flight Training in the Scenic, Wild Last Frontier appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The decision represents the latest case of an all-cargo airline throttling back on fleet expansion plans made during the COVID-19 crisis when a shortfall in shipping capacity sent rates through the roof and made freighters valuable assets.

Northern Air Cargo, which serves communities in Alaska from its base in Anchorage, lost $12 million in the 12 months ended September 30, according to data on airline performance metrics compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The idled cargo jets wear the brands of sister companies Aloha Air Cargo and Miami-based StratAir. Northern Air Cargo operates planes on behalf of both businesses.

The three companies are part of privately held Saltchuk Resources, a diversified freight transportation, logistics and energy distribution conglomerate based in Seattle. In 2021 and 2022, Saltchuk’s leasing subsidiary bought seven used Boeing 767-300 passenger jets and has been sending them to a Boeing partner site in Singapore to modify into main-deck freighters for the cargo airlines.

NAS Aircraft Leasing Co. (NALC) received two 767-300 converted freighters from Boeing in January and April and moved them to a storage facility until market conditions improve, Saltchuk Aviation spokeswoman April Spurlock said in an email.

Aircraft tracking site Flightradar24 shows the airplanes are being stored in the desert at Roswell Air Center in New Mexico.

“Throughout 2023 and 2024, the global air cargo market has experienced elevated costs and shifting market dynamics which has led to depressed pricing and cargo yields,” Spurlock said. “Due to this softening of the cargo market, Northern Air Cargo has taken steps to reduce its overhead costs and increase its revenues.”

The two new cargo jets will eventually replace aircraft the company will return in the near future when their lease ends. NALC currently leases three 767s from Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ: ATSG), according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. A decision on when to place the new 767s into service will depend on several factors, including market conditions in the Caribbean and in Central and South America, where StratAir operates, she added.

StratAir is an airfreight logistics provider that charters airlift from NAC. It currently utilizes four 767 freighters operated by NAC.

Northern Air Cargo and Aloha Air Cargo operate a total of 16 aircraft: nine Boeing 737-300/400 Classics, a newer 737-800 and six 767-300 medium widebodies. All 767s are on NAC’s operating certificate and flown by NAC pilots. Saltchuk Aviation swaps aircraft among carriers as needed. One of the 767s flown by NAC for StratAir out of Miami to places such as San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Lima, Peru, for example, has an Aloha Air Cargo livery.

Aloha Air Cargo, which had a profit of $30 million in the fiscal year that ended September 30, operates interisland routes in Hawaii and to Seattle and Los Angeles. On a combined basis, Aloha and NAC posted $18 million in net income for fiscal 2023.

NALC has taken delivery of six converted freighters so far. It has not started work on the seventh Boeing conversion yet, and there is no firm date to do so, said Spurlock.

There are costs to keep an airline dormant, such as storage, regular maintenance to ensure electrical and hydraulic systems don’t deteriorate, and special maintenance service when a plane is reactivated. But industry professionals say it is cheaper to ground an aircraft than operate it if load factors are low.

NAC also laid off three administrative personnel as part of its effort to reduce costs, said Spurlock.

The airfreight market has been steadily recovering since a 16-month downturn hit bottom late last summer. During the first quarter, cargo volumes increased about 12 percent year over year, based on the average metric from various data providers. Industry analysts expect annual growth of about 3.5 percent over 2023 levels. But cargo growth varies by region, with major trade lanes out of Asia boosting the global average. North America, for example, had the weakest growth in February of any region, according to the International Air Transport Association. Also, Northern Air Cargo, Aloha Air Cargo, and StratAir play in specialized markets that are subject to their own unique dynamics.

Saltchuk Aviation and Northern Air Cargo aren’t alone in feeling the consequences of the freight recession in 2022-2023.

Miami-based Amerijet, which competes with StratAir, recently went through a restructuring with new ownership and returned six Boeing 757 converted freighters to lessors less than two years after acquiring them. FedEx Express is parking a portion of its fleet because of soft parcel demand. Canada’s Cargojet abandoned plans to acquire eight Boeing 777s and convert them for cargo. Air Canada backed out of a deal with Boeing for two 777 factory freighters. GlobalX, a startup charter operation in Miami, is concentrating fleet expansion on the passenger side of the business, rather than cargo. And Air Transport Services Group has sharply cut back on capital expenditures and postponed sending some aircraft to conversion sites.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on FreightWaves.

The post Cargo Airline Sends New Boeing 767 Freighters Directly to Storage appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

I am often inspired by the real locations and weather I experience when I am on a real work trip. With ForeFlight by my side, it’s fun to test the realism of the sims and how they’re interpreting live weather worldwide. Both X-Plane 12 (XP12) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020) do a pretty good job of keeping up with it and both have shown continual improvements. It seems each month the message forums are showcasing live weather questions, observations, frustrations, and praise. 

I feel the most accurate live weather award currently goes to MSFS2020 as most of the flights I take, with ForeFlight next to me, are startlingly accurate. The altimeter, visibility, and clouds are really spot on. Locations of rain or snow are pretty accurate too with virga and visual depictions often having me saying “wow.” 

I made my way westward recently from the East Coast to encounter winter spots. The first was a stop into Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (KCLE) using a 787 Dreamliner. KCLE is known for lake-effect snow and this day didn’t disappoint. Snow bands were flowing west to east, and my flight session, down the ILS to an eventual autoland, took me right in the heart of it all.

Various moments from the cockpit view included bursts of snow whooshing past, some varying visibility, and not a lot of turbulence. Even as shown on ForeFlight, the snow showers ended east of the field near the city, allowing for an almost completely visual approach. As I got closer, some definite wind shear jibs and jabs made the wings bounce, something the 787 is famous for with its dampening, flexing wings.

Testing live weather was a success in this scenario. Let’s see the next one. 

I proceeded westward a few hours to the Dakotas and upon reaching there had some very windy weather and snowy bursts to contend with as well. I was using the amazing Learjet 35 I recently featured and it was a blast to feel this one out in surface winds gusting to 40 knots. The Learjet has enough fuel for about 1,500 nm tops, and in this case I traveled about 1,000 miles. I set out for a field in the North Dakota-eastern Montana area for fuel and aircraft change.

The somewhat higher elevations and wide-open areas with some gradual terrain will start making shear. The bumps were noticeable but not yet overly crazy. The wind flow over terrain effect within MSFS is remarkably accurate. 

For the next leg of the adventure, I chose the default Cessna Longitude bizjet, with more range and modern avionics to attempt a “visual” in horrendous weather, surrounded by dangerous terrain. Revelstoke, British Columbia, in Canada is spectacular as it gets, so I went to go check it out.

I vectored myself onto the arrival below the terrain. I would be landing on Runway 30 with the poor weather conditions, so I decided to use the modern technology at hand.

Following the 3D view with an eyesight-enhanced vision system on the Latitude, I could see right through the clouds and snow, down the river in virtual visual conditions. Now, I don’t think pilots with this avionics package do this yet, but I could see someday in the not too distant future the ability to just fly a visual approach in something horrendous.

I was led right down the shoot to the breakout point and runway in real visual conditions at a low altitude I would say was near ILS minimums.

In the real Challenger 300 I fly, similar to the Longitude, the reversers are so effective and rev up to such a high percentage, we don’t even touch the brakes until almost walking speed or something under 40 knots.

MSFS has great icing modeled with effects on performance. It doesn’t always come off cleanly, and sometimes even windows don’t get cleared very rapidly.

Continuing the adventure, I got into an A321neo (LatinVFR available on sim marketplace) for the rest of the journey westward. There is no better, more scenic place than Juneau, Alaska, and an unusual weather event was occurring at the time—clear skies! Alaska in winter is usually terrible with huge rain storms likely along the coast or wet snow blizzards. Apparently a cold snap following some heavy snows was occurring the day I tried this, and the built-in live weather matched the conditions almost to a T.

I have to stop somewhere, because the adventuring available in Alaska is endless. Maybe I’ll do this  again later this winter as there is so much to discover and tinker with. Setting up manual weather to something wild and dangerous is also fun, especially in mountainous regions. Using the variety of GA aircraft available in the sims opens up a whole new avenue of bush flying, where icing dangers are more noteworthy. 

As always, I have to link the “must-haves” as you fly: 

FS Realistic Pro for the best add-on ever made.

Sporty’s Pilot Shop for all the flight controls imaginable and an easy home setup.

ProDeskSim for the coolest affordable add-ons to the Honeycomb throttle quadrant that will leave you drooling. 

The post Testing Live Weather and Winter Wonders Along the Way appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On Monday, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy thanked the public and local law enforcement for helping find the door plug that flew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 shortly after takeoff from Runway 28L on Friday. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport (KPDX).

There was no loss of life, but the 171 passengers, two pilots, and four flight attendants were understandably shaken up, noted Homendy, adding that the flight crew acted heroically in the chaotic situation.

According to preliminary information the NTSB gathered, the explosive decompression was the result of the failure of  a door plug located in Row 26 of the Boeing 737 Max 9. The door plug is a space in the fuselage that allows for an additional emergency exit door to be installed if the customer desires. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two largest U.S. customers for the Boeing 737 Max 9, have opted for fuselages with door plugs. From inside the cabin, you cannot tell there is an option for a door.

When the door plug on the left side of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 blew out, seats 26A and 26B, which were adjacent to the door plug, were empty. Parts of the seats were ripped away, and the remaining seat frames twisted by the force of the decompression. There was damage throughout the cabin but no serious injuries.

The door plug was found over the weekend in a Portland neighborhood west of the airport. Bob Sauer, a high school science teacher, discovered it in his backyard. The NTSB recovered the door Monday. Since it was dark when the incident happened, residents west of KPDX didn’t know there were parts of the aircraft falling from the sky until the light of day. When Sauer realized what it was, he sent a photo of it to the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov. One of his neighbors, meanwhile, found part of a headrest from a seat on her back patio, and two cellphones were found nearby. There were no reports of injuries or damage from the falling objects.

• READ MORE: NTSB Finds Missing 737 Max 9 Door Plug in Teacher’s Backyard

During the Monday NTSB briefing, Clint Crookshanks, an aerospace engineer and part of the agency’s structures team, explained the design of the door plug, stating it is held in place by 12 stop pads on the opening that interface with 12 stop pins on the plug to prevent it from blowing out of the fuselage.

The installation of the door plug requires guide tracks and roller guides to get it into position. There is a hinge on the bottom of the door plug that allows it to be moved out approximately 15 degrees for maintenance. There are four stop bolts designed to keep it from moving upward and disengaging the stops.

“The exam to date has shown that the door did in fact translate upward, [allowing] all 12 stops became disengaged allowing it to blow out of the fuselage,” Crookshanks said. “We found that both guide tracks on the plug were fractured. We have not yet recovered the four bolts that restrain it from its vertical movement, and we have not yet determined if they existed there. That will be determined when we take the plug to our lab in Washington, D.C.”

The search for evidence continues, said Homendy.

“We are still looking for the bottom hinge fitting and a spring,” she said. “It is a pretty large spring. The fitting is a green circular piece with a hole in it.”

The NTSB will put the parts under microscopic examination in an effort to determine why the failure occurred.

Flight Telemetry Tells the Story

Although the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was overwritten because it was not removed from the aircraft before its two-hour cycle was up, investigators do have information gleaned from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) for the January 5 flight.

At 17:06:47 p.m., Flight 1282 took off from Runway 28L at KPDX.

At 17:12:33, the recorded cabin pressure dropped from 14.09 to 11.64 PSI. The aircraft was at approximately 14,083 feet at an airspeed of 271 knots. At this time, the cabin altitude greater than 10,000 feet warning was activated.

At 17:12:34, the master caution activated as the cabin pressure dropped to 9.08 PSI. The aircraft was at an altitude of 14,850 feet.

The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 16,320 feet then began a descent to 10,000 feet and returned to KPDX.

Homendy noted that the agency aircraft systems team is focusing on the cabin pressure control system, as there were three occasions when the auto pressurization light illuminated. She said this computer-run system has a triple redundancy with one primary cabin pressure controller, a secondary controller, and a manual controller. If the primary and secondary computer-run systems fail, the crew activates the system manually to maintain safe cabin pressurization.

“If either one of the computer systems is inoperative, the FAA allows the operator to continue flying the aircraft,” Homendy said.

The NTSB has verified the maintenance logs of the aircraft that indicate the redundant system “operated as designed on December 7, January 3, and January 4.” The flight crew notified maintenance of the warning light illumination as required, but it has not been determined if the warning lights were “correlated in any way to the expulsion of the door plug and the rapid decompression.”

The investigation into the blowout could take months.

In the meantime, the world’s 737 Max 9 fleet is grounded, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations and delays. The FAA is working with operators to develop an inspection process.

Alaska Airlines, the FAA, Boeing, and Spirit Aero, the makers of the fuselage of the 737 Max 9, are working together to identify the issues so that the aircraft can safely return to flight.

The post NTSB Identifies Part That Failed on 737 Max 9 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The November 13 accident occurred on Read Island in southeastern Alaska as the MH-60 and four aircrew on board were dispatched from Air Station Sitka in response to a distress call from a fishing boat, the Lydia Marie. 

• READ MORE: Coast Guard MH-60 Helicopter Crashes During Alaska Rescue Op

All four crewmembers were injured in the accident, two seriously, the Coast Guard reported at the time. All have since been released, the service said Saturday.

On Friday, the aircraft was recovered from the site, prompting the Coast Guard to remove a security zone that had been in effect around the area since the accident occurred.

• READ MORE: Flying Blind: Trust Is the Cornerstone for This Alaska Air Rescue Team

The Coast Guard’s efforts to retrieve the wreckage of the Jayhawk included the U.S. Army’s Downed Aircraft Recovery Team, U.S. Forest Service, National Weather Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Petersburg Fire & Rescue, as well as independent contractors.

“We are grateful our four crewmembers were released from Harborview Medical Center and are on the road to recovery,” said Coast Guard Captain Brian McLaughlin, head of the crisis action team that led recovery efforts. We are also incredibly thankful to the many people and organizations who helped us recover the aircraft. Getting the helicopter to where our investigators can better examine the wreckage is the next step in the ongoing investigation.”

• READ MORE: Airframe Delivery Launches Coast Guard’s MH-60T Extension Program

The investigation into the crash remains ongoing, the Coast Guard said.

The post USCG MH-60 Crash Probe Advances After Wreckage Retrieved appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The accident occurred late Monday night on Read Island in southeastern Alaska as the aircrew dispatched from Air Station Sitka responded to a distress call from a fishing boat, the Lydia Marie. 

• READ MORE: Flying Blind: Trust Is the Cornerstone for This Alaska Air Rescue Team

Following the crash, rescue crews from Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Petersburg Fire and Rescue responded to the site shortly before 1 a.m. AKST Tuesday. Less than an hour later, a second MH-60 rescue crew from Air Station Sitka also arrived, according to the Coast Guard. 

The Coast Guard said on-site wind speeds at the beginning of the search and rescue were 28-34 mph and seas were at 4-5 feet. Upon arrival at the crash site, the second MH-60 rescue helicopter reported wind speeds of 46 mph, visibility at one-quarter of a mile, and seas at 1-2 feet. 

The injured crewmembers were transported by the second Jayhawk to Petersburg, Alaska, for medical care then sent by a C-130 Hercules to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the service said.

• READ MORE: NTSB Launches Probe After Lawmaker’s Husband Killed in Alaska Crash

As of Tuesday, two of the injured Coast Guard crewmembers were listed in serious condition, while the other two were in good condition. 

“Our priority is to provide the highest level of care possible for our injured members and their families,” said Rear Admiral Megan Dean, commander of the Coast Guard’s 17th District. “We are grateful for the swift response and professional skill shown by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Petersburg Fire and Rescue members who answered our call for assistance during this critical time. We have opened an investigation into the cause of this event and will be forthcoming with the results as they become available.”

The post Coast Guard MH-60 Helicopter Crashes During Alaska Rescue Op appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The NTSB has also named the FAA, Piper Aircraft, and Lycoming engines as parties to the investigation, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a briefing Wednesday.

The Piper PA-18 150 Super Cub piloted by Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., 57 and husband of Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, went down shortly after takeoff around 8:45 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time Tuesday, approximately 64 miles north of St. Mary’s, Homendy said.

St, Mary’s is located north of Bethel, Alaska, in mountainous terrain.

• READ MORE: ‘Flying Wild Alaska’ Pilot Jim Tweto Dies in Accident

Citing preliminary information, Homendy said Peltola had flown to the remote area to drop off a hunter with their equipment. Peltola was departing the area and was alone in the airplane when it went down shortly after takeoff. 

Witnesses to the accident will be interviewed by the NTSB, she said.

The NTSB said the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson received a satellite signal from the airplane’s emergency locator transmitter at 8:48 p.m. ADT and deployed an Alaska Air National Guard rescue team, which arrived at the scene early Wednesday.

• READ MORE: NTSB Cites Weather, Terrain as Possible Factors in Denali Accident

Alaska State Troopers reported that Peltola initially survived the accident and was cared for by two hunters, but he succumbed to his injuries before additional help could arrive.

Because of the remote location, there are no reports of weather in the area at the time of the accident. According to Timetable.com, sunset was approximately 9:29 p.m. ADT.

Peltola was issued a commercial pilot’s certificate in 2004, according to The New York Times.

Homendy noted it is unclear if the flight was conducted under Part 91 or Part 135. Local media noted that Eugene Peltola had recently retired from his position as regional director of Alaska’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.

• FAA: Safety Improvements Needed In Alaska

The accident follows calls by the NTSB for improvement to aviation safety in Alaska. In 2020, the agency reported that the accident rate is 2.35 times higher and the fatal accident rate 1.34 higher in the state than the rest of the U.S. 

“Whether it is a Part 135 flight or a pleasure trip, all pilots must deal with Alaska’s challenging geography and weather,” former NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at the time of the report. “We need to give them all the tools and resources to do so safely.”

VIDEO: NTSB virtual media briefing with @ChairHomendy on the St. Mary’s, Alaska plane crash investigation: https://t.co/lfi0RJHUAe

— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) September 13, 2023

The post NTSB Launches Probe After Lawmaker’s Husband Killed in Alaska Crash appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to the Alaska State Troopers, Tweto, 68 of Unalakleet, Alaska, and passenger Shane Reynolds, age 45 of Orofino, Idaho, were attempting to take off in Tweto’s Cessna 180 around noon, but according to witnesses, the aircraft failed to climb.

Troopers were alerted to the accident through an SOS activation from a Garmin InReach device around 11:48 a.m.

Tweto became well-known in the early 2010 as the star of the documentary series “Flying Wild Alaska” on the Discovery channel.

“Flying Wild Alaska” aired for three seasons. It featured Tweto, his wife and three daughters, and their day-to-day life operating Era Alaska, a small regional airline serving the remote communities of Alaska.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.

The post ‘Flying Wild Alaska’ Pilot Jim Tweto Dies in Accident appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Pioneer Field is tucked away in the heavily glaciated Chugach Mountains near the head of a deep fjord in the Prince William Sound, just across from the Port of Valdez, and the Valdez Glacier that sits to the east of the runway. Despite how awe-inspiring this landscape may be, it owns a reputation for creating fast-changing and inclement weather conditions, but it seems the weather gods were smiling down upon the 19th Annual Fly-In & STOL Competition with blue skies and  an abundance of sunshine. The conditions could not have been more beautiful for this legendary event.  Regular Valdez competitor Dan Reynolds said, “Overall this year’s weather was some of the best I have seen.” 

The ramp was full of airplanes belonging to competitors and spectators who traveled from hundreds, even thousands of miles to participate, coming from as far north as Fairbanks and North Pole, Alaska, to Juneau, just 450 miles to the south of Valdez. Boaz Schwarts of Tel Aviv, Israel, flew his Carbon Cub FX3 from Bend, Oregon, to join CubCrafters at the event to give demo rides, and another person traveled 4,348 miles from Tampa, Florida, to volunteer for the event.

Of the 2,000 spectators in attendance were 200-plus passengers from the HMS Nieuw Amsterdam, a Holland America Line cruise ship that was docked at the port just a few miles up the road. The city of Valdez offered the ship’s aviation enthusiast a free shuttle ride to the fly-in.

Light Sport

Even a few Canadians made it over the border to compete, including Valdez Light Sport Class winner Reynolds, who made his event debut in 2016 in his 1984 Chinook Valdez Special. This was Reynolds’ sixth year competing at Valdez, having only missed 2020 due the Canadian border being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Reynolds is one of the fan favorites, having set a new short landing record in 2018 with a distance of 9 feet, 6 inches, beating the previous record of Valdez STOL legend Frank Knapp in his “lil’ Cub” set the previous year at 10 feet, 5 inches.  

Reynolds has reached the podium every year since he started competing at Valdez, and 2023 was no different. He took home another first place win in the light sport category with a take off distance of 28 feet and landing distance of 38 feet for a combined 66 feet that also earned him the overall best score. Because of the unusually mild weather, the stronger headwinds that bring the super-short, record-breaking distances were lacking, leaving Reynolds’ 2018 mark standing for another year. 

You can watch Reynolds compete at the Wayne America Fly-In in the National STOL Series against some of the most talented pilots in the lower U.S., including Steve Henry, Austin Clemons, and Hal Stockman.

This year, Knapp and his wife, Kris, were spotted on the spectator side of the fence. Knapp said, “We enjoyed the show from the spectator viewpoint this year! For us, one of the most exciting moments was watching Dan (Lawn Dart) Reynolds with his Chinook! It was a great group of pilots and machines!”

Alternate Bush

Nathan Rehack took the win in the Alternate Bush Class in his 2022 Experimental CAW12 Super Cruiser, with a combined score of 171 feet, an impressive 49 feet shorter than second place.

Bush Class

The Bush Class was the most stacked class of the event with nine aircraft, including Piper PA18s, ranging from the early 1950s to the late 1970s, a PA22 Tri Pacer, a 1943 Interstate S1B1, and a 1946 Aeronca Champ! Joe Prax, the Valdez fly-in president, said he found the Bush Class scores to be the most impressive, and although the Aeronca Champ didn’t win the class, pilot Kyle Sobeck did a great job with a lower-powered plane without flaps. The crowd appreciates any airplane flown well.

It was newcomer George Pine who won the Bush Class in his 1959 Piper PA18. This was Pine’s first time competing at an STOL event. 

Light Touring 

The 170 Mafia enjoyed a strong showing in the Light Touring Class. However, the strength-in-numbers axiom didn’t apply this weekend as it was Steven Spence in his 1958 Cessna 172 who took the win for the third consecutive year with the combined shortest distance of 170 feet.

Heavy Touring

The Heavy Touring Class was also stacked with a strong presence of Cessnas— 206, 185, and 180s—but it was a 1978 Helio Courier that won by a whopping 113 feet over second place with a combined distance of 177 feet flown by Lukas Stutzer. It was Stutzer’s second career victory at Valdez. 

Second- and third-place finishers James Sparks and Keving Doyle have competed for many years. Doyle especially sports a long family history in Alaska STOL, as his uncle was part of the first known competition held on the beach on Kenai in the early 1970s.

Prax was pleased with the turnout this year: “We had a good mix of new and veteran pilots who all performed well. The wind at the event was only 7-8 knots but (was) extremely steady. Another factor in great performance is the low density altitude from cooler temperatures and the event (being) at sea level.” 

The day ended with a delicious dinner and awards banquet at the Valdez Convention & Civic Center that overlooks Port Valdez. With the Sugarloaf, Benzene, and Mummy mountains serving as a breathtaking backdrop, it was the perfect setting for a  celebratory formation flyby—performed by aerobatic pilots Scott Sexton of Barnstormers Aviation in his Citabria and extreme sports athlete Melissa Dawn Burns in her Edge 540—to celebrate the competing pilots, volunteers, staff, and 350 of their closest friends, family, and fans.

Richard McSpadden of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said, “Valdez is hallowed ground for STOL. It is like (the) Fenway Park and Lambeau Field of bush flying.”

Valdez STOL is known for bringing this type of competition to the forefront of general aviation and has made  a direct impact on the creation and growth of popular events in the lower 48 states. The staff is already planning and preparing to celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary in 2024.

All in all, the 19th Annual Valdez STOL Competition was truly a sight to behold, made even more memorable by the gorgeous weather. 

The post Annual Valdez STOL Event Brings New Competitors, Former Winners appeared first on FLYING Magazine.