Latest news with #ClintJohnson
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NTSB: Helicopter in crash that killed 2 near Deadhorse received weather clearance
Jun. 5—The helicopter that crashed on the North Slope on Wednesday received a special weather clearance before taking off, federal officials say. The pilot and sole passenger were killed in the crash, which occurred 25 to 30 miles southwest of Deadhorse, according to a statement from the North Slope Borough. The Robinson R-66 helicopter was operated by Pollux Aviation. A company pilot was behind the controls, along with a passenger from a private company that had contracted the helicopter to conduct wildlife surveys, according to Clint Johnson, Alaska chief with the National Transportation Safety Board. The helicopter took off from Deadhorse around 10:30 or 10:40 a.m., Johnson said. Pollux lost contact with its tracking signal just before 11 a.m., he said. The company contacted the Rescue Coordination Center, which contacted the NTSB, triggering a search by the North Slope Borough Search and Rescue Department, officials said. The search and rescue team confirmed the fatalities. The pilot and passenger have not been officially identified. A North Slope Borough spokesperson on Thursday said there was no new information she could release. Johnson described the topography in the area of the crash as "snow-covered, flat featureless terrain." He said the pilot had received what's known as a Special Visual Flight Rules clearance. The clearance is commonly used, especially in rural Alaska, to land in low ceilings or visibility. Authorized by a national Federal Aviation Administration rule, it gives pilots the option of relying on what they can see, rather than cockpit instruments, to fly in and out of airports in deteriorating weather. The last contact that controllers had with the Pollux pilot Wednesday was when he flew out of the specific zone where the clearance applied, Johnson said. The NTSB will be investigating the weather conditions in the area of the crash, he said. "As far as visibility, other aircraft were operating. Our intent is to figure out in real time what was going on weather-wise," Johnson said. Investigators with the agency plan to conduct an initial on-scene investigation, and then transport the wreckage back to a secure area either in Deadhorse or at Prudhoe Bay, Johnson said.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
2 killed in helicopter crash on Alaska's remote North Slope, NTSB says
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter crash killed two people on Alaska's remote North Slope on Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board said. NTSB Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said the agency was notified of a missing helicopter Wednesday afternoon and found wreckage from a crash roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Deadhorse, news outlets reported. The safety board is investigating. It said in a social media post that the helicopter was a Robinson R-66 that went down near the Kuparuk oil field. No further information was immediately released. In 2023, a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state workers crashed in a shallow lake in the North Slope region.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
2 killed in helicopter crash on Alaska's remote North Slope, NTSB says
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter crash killed two people on Alaska's remote North Slope on Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board said. NTSB Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said the agency was notified of a missing helicopter Wednesday afternoon and found wreckage from a crash roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Deadhorse, news outlets reported. The safety board is investigating. It said in a social media post that the helicopter was a Robinson R-66 that went down near the Kuparuk oil field. No further information was immediately released. In 2023, a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state workers crashed in a shallow lake in the North Slope region.
CBC
20-03-2025
- CBC
U.S. investigators say Alaska plane was overweight for icy conditions in crash that killed 10
A commuter plane that crashed on sea ice off Alaska, killing all 10 people on board, was half a ton overweight for a trip into icy conditions, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a preliminary report released Wednesday. The weight is just a "data point" in the ongoing investigation, cautioned Clint Johnson, who leads the NTSB's Alaska region. A final report including probable causes can take a year or more after a crash. The Feb 6. Bering Air crash was one of Alaska's deadliest plane crashes this century and the third major U.S. aviation mishap in an eight-day stretch. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided over the Potomac River on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing all six on board and another person on the ground. Small airplanes like the Cessna Caravan in this crash are the workhorses of Alaska, where most of the state's 200-plus villages are beyond the road system and only accessible by air or boat. Residents rely on the commuter planes like people living in the Lower 48 depend on cars, using them to get to medical appointments and meetings, to go shopping, to visit relatives or to attend away high school sports games. The single-engine turboprop plane was flying that afternoon from the community of Unalakleet to Nome, a trip of about 240 kilometres, when authorities lost contact less than an hour after takeoff, David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air, said at the time. The Cessna Caravan went missing about 50 kilometres from its destination. A review of the plane's contents following the crash indicated its estimated gross weight at departure was about 4,475 kilograms — about 480 kilograms over the maximum takeoff gross weight for a flight into areas where icing is in the forecast, the report says. The pilot operating handbook notes the maximum allowable takeoff gross weight for a flight into such conditions was the same as the basic airplane, 3,995 kilograms. Johnson said it remains to be determined whether the overweight conditions were a factor in the accident. Icing conditions were forecast along the route, and it was snowing, with some freezing rain in Nome, he said. Officials are trying to determine what information was relayed to the pilot, what information he had when he left and whether ice conditions existed at the crash location, he said. An email seeking comment sent to Bering Air was not immediately returned. Weather is often a factor in remote Alaska, and while flying is commonplace to most Alaskans, it can be a dangerous endeavor, said Whitney Power Wilson, an aviation accident litigation lawyer and pilot in Anchorage. "Icing should be concern for all pilots, but especially for pilots of smaller aircraft and pilots who frequently operate in conditions conducive to icing," she said. "The weight of an aircraft, the fact that icing is something that we're dealing with, those considerations have to be taken seriously because the consequences can be so tragic." Investigators also looked at the plane's altitude. It was flying in an area where moderate icing was possible between 2,000 feet (610 metres) and 8,000 feet (2,438 metres) and where the weather could be hazardous to light aircraft, NTSB chairperson Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference in Nome last month. Contact was lost shortly after air traffic control told the pilot the runway in Nome would be closed for about 15 minutes for deicing, the report says. "The controller added that if the pilot wanted to 'slow down a little bit' to prevent the flight from arriving before the runway reopened, that would be fine, and the pilot acknowledged," the report states. The pilot handbook also indicates an air speed of 95 knots must be maintained to fly in icing conditions if de-icing equipment is fully functional. About three minutes after the pilot was told to descend to 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) at his discretion, the autopilot disengaged at 99 knots, then dropped within seconds to 70 knots and was at about 3,100 feet (945 meters), the report says. The final satellite tracking data came less than one minute later, at 3:20 p.m., at an altitude of 200 feet. The anti-icing system on the wings and tail of the five-year-old turbo-propeller airplane was designed to prevent ice from accumulating, the report says. The operator said the quantity of deicing fluid was checked during each preflight inspection. The pilot is responsible for ensuring there is a sufficient quantity onboard, but there is no requirement to record when it's added to the airplane. A worker at the Unalakleet airport told the pilot that the fluid was available, but the pilot told her the tank was full, according to the report. The U.S. Coast Guard has said it was unaware of any distress signals from the plane. After an extensive search, the wreckage was found the following day on a drifting ice floe. The pilot and all nine passengers had been killed.
CBS News
20-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
Alaska plane that crashed, killing 10, was half a ton overweight for icy conditions, NTSB says
A commuter plane that crashed on sea ice off Alaska , killing all 10 people on board, was half a ton overweight for a trip into icy conditions, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report released Wednesday. Citing the Cessna operator's log for the flight, the NTSB said in the report that baggage and cargo collectively weighed about 709 pounds, contributing to the small plane's overall takeoff weight of about 9,776 pounds. The overall weight was roughly 969 pounds over the maximum takeoff gross weight for a flight into areas where forecasters expect icing conditions, and roughly 714 pounds over the maximum weight for any flight, according to the report . The weight is just a "data point" in the ongoing investigation, cautioned Clint Johnson, who leads the NTSB's Alaska region. A final report including probable causes can take a year or more after a crash. The pilot in the Feb 6. Bering Air crash , 34-year-old Chad Antill of Nome, and nine passengers on board the plane died from their injuries. It was one of Alaska's deadliest plane crashes this century and the third major U.S. aviation mishap in an eight-day stretch. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided over the Potomac River on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing all six on board and another person on the ground. After the crash, investigators told CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave that the aircraft was not equipped with voice or data recorders, because that is not a requirement. After recovering the victims' remains, authorities said they would search for other components of the plane that store data which could help them better understand what led the plane to go down. Small airplanes like the Cessna Caravan in this crash are the workhorses of Alaska, where most of the state's 200-plus villages are beyond the road system and only accessible by air or boat. Residents rely on the commuter planes like people living in the Lower 48 depend on cars, using them to get to medical appointments and meetings, to go shopping, to visit relatives or to attend away high school sports games. The single-engine turboprop plane was flying that afternoon from the community of Unalakleet to Nome, a trip of about 150 miles, when authorities lost contact less than an hour after takeoff, David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air, said at the time. The Cessna Caravan went missing about 30 miles from its destination. Johnson said it remains to be determined whether the overweight conditions were a factor in the accident. Icing conditions were forecast along the route, and it was snowing, with some freezing rain in Nome, he said. Officials are trying to determine what information was relayed to the pilot, what information he had when he left and whether ice conditions existed at the crash location, he said. An email seeking comment sent to Bering Air was not immediately returned. Weather is often a factor in remote Alaska, and while flying is commonplace to most Alaskans, it can be a dangerous endeavor, said Whitney Power Wilson, an aviation accident litigation lawyer and pilot in Anchorage. "Icing should be concern for all pilots, but especially for pilots of smaller aircraft and pilots who frequently operate in conditions conducive to icing," she said. "The weight of an aircraft, the fact that icing is something that we're dealing with, those considerations have to be taken seriously because the consequences can be so tragic." Investigators also looked at the plane's altitude. It was flying in an area where moderate icing was possible between 2,000 feet and 8,000 feet and where the weather could be hazardous to light aircraft, NTSB chairperson Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference in Nome last month. Contact was lost shortly after air traffic control told the pilot the runway in Nome would be closed for about 15 minutes for deicing, the report says. "The controller added that if the pilot wanted to 'slow down a little bit' to prevent the flight from arriving before the runway reopened, that would be fine, and the pilot acknowledged," the report states. The pilot handbook also indicates an air speed of 95 knots must be maintained to fly in icing conditions if de-icing equipment is fully functional. About three minutes after the pilot was told to descend to 4,000 feet at his discretion, the autopilot disengaged at 99 knots, then dropped within seconds to 70 knots and was at about 3,100 feet, the report says. The final satellite tracking data came less than one minute later, at 3:20 p.m., at an altitude of 200 feet. The anti-icing system on the wings and tail of the 5-year-old turbo-propeller airplane was designed to prevent ice from accumulating, the report says. The operator said the quantity of deicing fluid was checked during each preflight inspection. The pilot is responsible for ensuring there is a sufficient quantity onboard, but there is no requirement to record when it's added to the airplane. A worker at the Unalakleet airport told the pilot that the fluid was available, but the pilot told her the tank was full, according to the report. The U.S. Coast Guard has said it was unaware of any distress signals from the plane. After an extensive search, the wreckage was found the following day on a drifting ice floe. The pilot and all nine passengers had been killed.
