Homer pilot and Anchorage photographer killed in small plane crash in Nanwalek
Apr. 29—Authorities say the crash of a small commercial flight on the Kenai Peninsula on Monday killed the pilot and a 37-year-old Anchorage resident, a well-known artist and photographer originally from Nome.
Another male passenger was medevaced to an Anchorage hospital with serious injuries, Alaska State Troopers said in an update Tuesday.
Troopers on Tuesday identified the passenger killed in the crash as 37-year-old Anchorage resident Jenny Irene Miller.
The pilot, 48-year-old Homer resident Daniel Bunker, made a last-minute decision not to land so he could avoid a dog on the community's short runway just before the plane crashed, officials said Tuesday.
Nanwalek is a small village just under 30 miles southwest of Homer. Residents called 911 to report the crash just before 2 p.m. then rushed out to provide help. It was over an hour before authorities and medevac helicopters arrived.
The operator of the scheduled flight from Homer to Nanwalek was Smokey Bay Air, a Homer-based air service.
Bunker was on approach to land when he radioed another company plane behind him, said Clint Johnson, Alaska chief for the National Transportation Safety Board. Bunker told the other pilot there was something on the runway, so he was going to go around and try for another landing, Johnson said.
Witnesses said there was a dog on the airstrip, he said.
Bunker initiated the "go-around" and appeared to be turning back toward the airport when the plane crashed, Johnson said.
"What happened from there is what we refer to as a 'loss of control consistent with a stall,'" he said.
Investigators will examine the plane's wreckage to check for any mechanical issues.
Local residents said a few dozen people ran out to help after the crash, which followed what one described as a sharp banking turn over the water.
The injured passenger was taken to the local clinic, said resident Jerry Demas. Volunteers hauled the wreckage up and away from the incoming tide and carefully removed Miller and Butcher, he said.
People came down from the school, including staff trained in CPR, Demas said. Those administering medical aid took turns, he said. "They were performing CPR for at least a good hour."
State park rangers assisted and a Maritime Helicopters pilot saw the crash and landed, Demas said.
Some volunteers hauled packages out of the aircraft, which was making a mail run, said Katrina Hetrick, tribal administrator for Nanwalek IRA.
Miller was flying into town to take photographs at the school's Sea Week event, Hetrick said.
Bunker was the kind of pilot who put nervous flyers like her at ease, she said. "He was amazing ... He made you feel safe. He made you feel comfortable."
Miller was a photographer and artist born in Nome who preferred the name "Jenny Irene" and whose work incorporated Inupiaq traditions and LGBTQ+ activism. Miller's pieces have been exhibited internationally, including at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Haus Kunst Mitte in Berlin, the Portland Art Museum, SITE Santa Fe and the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. Her photography is on display at the Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer through Wednesday, the gallery said in a Facebook post.
Miller was also a "committed, thoughtful, and very intentional" board member of Native Movement, a nonprofit Indigenous advocacy group, said the group's executive director, Enei Begaye.
"She took her role seriously and made sure LGBTQ and two-spirit rights and safety were at the heart of our work," Begaye said in a message Tuesday. "As a friend, she was one of the most kind and caring. She had a sense of humor all her own, one that only an artist introvert could really hone and deliver."
"I am so lucky to have known her," she said. "I will miss her deeply."
Princess Daazhraii Johnson, a Neets'aii Gwich'in writer, actor producer and director, served with Miller on the Native Movement board. Johnson on Tuesday called Miller, who used the pronouns she/they, a "true luminary in every sense of the word" who saw the beauty in others.
"Through their photography, they amplified understanding and compassion to a broad audience," Johnson said in a message. "They touched many lives with their love, humor, and generous support of those around them. We are all so heartbroken to hear of this great loss to our community."
Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday expressed condolences to the families of Bunker and Miller and said he and his wife, Rose Dunleavy, are "praying for the recovery of the injured passenger."
Bunker was certificated as a commercial pilot in 2021, according to FAA records. He held single- and multi-engine as well as instrument flight ratings. Bunker, in a video posted earlier this year by eyewear company Randolph USA, said he got into aviation after coming to Alaska and guiding for film crews.
Bunker grew up in California and moved to Alaska in 2009 before working at Hallo Bay Bear Camp and guiding a Disney Nature camera crew filming "Bears" in Katmai National Park in 2013, according to a 2014 story in the Homer News. His experience among the brown bears, one injured bear in particular, inspired Bunker to write a children's book called "Limpy Chesterton" for his two sons.
Melody Hall, a Seldovia resident, had high praise for Bunker. She said her children fly Smokey Bay Air to and from their community on the south shore of Kachemak Bay.
Residents of Seldovia, Port Graham and Nanwalek get mail, groceries and other items from the company's planes.
"I just think that Smokey Bay Air is essential to survival in our rural community," Hall said in a message. "They are reliable and skilled. Their pilots are friendly and caring. This is such a huge tragedy for the community and it breaks my heart."
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