Latest news with #SmokeyBayAir
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'There's something on the runway': New report includes firsthand accounts of plane crash that killed 2 in Nanwalek
May 14—A new federal report provides firsthand accounts of the moments before a fatal plane crash in Nanwalek last month that killed the pilot and a passenger. The crash of the Smokey Bay Air Cessna T207 on April 28 killed 48-year-old Homer resident Daniel Bunker, the pilot, and 37-year-old Anchorage resident Jenny Irene Miller, a well-known artist and photographer originally from Nome. A male passenger was seriously injured. The afternoon flight was a regularly scheduled trip from Homer to Nanwalek, a village on Kachemak Bay just under 30 miles southwest of Homer. Investigators have said it appeared Bunker was coming in for a landing when he decided to go around and try again after spotting something, most likely a dog, on the village's short runway. The plane could be seen banking sharply left before going out of control and spiraling to the ground. Some witnesses on the ground said they saw a dog on the runway when the plane was on final approach, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released Wednesday. A pilot in a second Smokey Bay Airplane a few miles behind Bunker recalled hearing him say over the radio, "'I'm going around, there's something on the runway,' just before the accident," lead investigator Mitchell Rasmussen wrote in the report. The report marks the agency's first official description of the incident. Any probable cause finding isn't expected to be released until next year. The plane departed Homer with three occupants as well as passenger baggage and mail on board, according to the report. The surviving passenger, interviewed at an Anchorage hospital, described approaching Nanwalek Airport from the north and over the village, the report said. The passenger recalled the plane was "offset to the right of the runway centerline on final approach" before it entered a sharp, steeper than normal left banking turn and then went out of control, Rasmussen wrote. The plane came to rest on the beach about 350 feet northwest of the approach end of the airport runway, according to the report. Local residents and first responders pulled the wreckage to higher ground as the tide rose. They called 911 to report the crash just before 2 p.m., then provided help. Some administered CPR while others removed mail and cargo. Authorities and medical evacuation helicopters arrived more than an hour later. The Nanwalek airport has only 850 feet of usable runway, state transportation officials say. The most recent aviation incident at the airport, in 2016, involved the same Smokey Bay Air plane destroyed in the April crash. Three passengers and the pilot swam to safety after the plane went down offshore. The pilot later described a wind shift that caused him to run out of runway.
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Bizarre new theory about why Alaska tour plane crashed and killed two people
Officials have said a deadly plane crash at a beach in Alaska this week may have unfolded after the pilot swerved to avoid a loose dog on the runway. A Cessna 207 tour plane carrying three people went down just before 2pm on Monday, killing pilot Daniel Bunker, 48, and passenger Jenny Irene Miller, 37. An unidentified male passenger was also on board, and he was rushed to hospital in Anchorage with 'serious' injuries, officials added. Witnesses said the horror unfolded after a dog ran loose on the runway in Nanwalek, where the plane had been due to land. 'What we understand now is that there may have been an animal, namely a dog, that was on the runway,' Clint Johnson, Chief of the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska regional office, told Alaska's News Source. 'The pilot initiated a go-around. There was also another company airplane behind - he was talking to that airplane at the same time - said he was initiating the go-around, made a right turn away from the runway, pretty steep climb, and unfortunately, there was a loss of control.' Johnson said investigators believe the plane may have been hit with an aerodynamic stall, though the investigation is still ongoing. 'We don't want to draw any conclusions at this point,' he said. 'We still are in the very formative stages. We are going to be looking very closely at that airplane. 'We are in the recovery process right now to get that airplane back to Homer and probably eventually back to Anchorage here where we are going to lay it out and make sure there are no mechanical issues that led to this loss of control.' Johnson said the plane crashed on the beach close to the water, and rescuers are working to extract it. 'Right after the accident ... rescuers were able to pull that wreckage up a little bit further away from the water, but nevertheless it is in the tide zone,' he said. The plane was operated by Smokey Bay Air, a tour operator which offers trips to Seldovia and bear-viewing expeditions from Homer Airport. The NTSB said investigators are working with the operator and its insurance company to coordinate the recovery of the wreckage. Pilot Daniel Bunker was from Homer, while Jenny Irene Miller was from Anchorage. It's not known where the third passenger was from. Bunker was a father-of-two with his partner Melissa. He frequently posted family photographs on his Instagram account. He was also a naturalist brown bear guide, amateur photographer and volunteer firefighter. Bunker was remembered by Seldovia Village Tribe as 'a skilled pilot and kind soul who served our communities with dedication'. Miller was an artist and freelance photographer who created portraits of Alaska Natives and their homelands. She leaves behind her partner Nora, according to a fundraising page for her family. Miller worked as a board member for Native Movement, who said her Iñupiaq name is Wiagañmiu. 'She broadened the expression of both Alaska Native and Queer identity, making it possible for more people to be our authentic selves,' the organization said. Friends remembered her as an 'amazing human being' who would be 'deeply missed by many'. Her friend Tikaan Galbreath paid tribute to her as a 'bright and kind human doing good work for the world'. 'She was a good friend who always reminded me to be thoughtful of others and caring even when it's hard to be,' Galbreath wrote on her fundraising page. 'Every time I had the chance to be with her, it felt like the simple joys were more clearly present and laughter was easy to find. I'll sorely miss her friendship.' Officials are continuing to interview witnesses, and anyone with information is encouraged to get in touch by email to witness@
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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."
