Latest news with #StMarys
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Moose meat and antlers caused Alaska plane crash: report
Too much moose meat and a set of antlers strapped to a wing brought a small plane down in Alaska, killing its pilot, according to a crash report published this week. Eugene Peltola died hours after his aircraft -- carrying over 500 pounds (225 kilograms) of moose meat -- plunged into mountains near St Mary's in southwest Alaska in September 2023. A report released Tuesday by the US National Transportation Safety Board found the hefty meat cargo meant the plane was more than 100 pounds over its takeoff weight when it left a remote airstrip in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. The presence of a pair of moose antlers on the right wing strut of the plane -- a common practice in Alaska -- would likely have made flight even trickier, the report said, because of their effect on aerodynamics. Clint Johnson, the Alaska Region Chief for NTSB, was cited by local media as saying there were three main factors that contributed to the crash of the Piper PA 18-150 Super Cub. "Number one was, obviously, the overweight condition -- no ifs, ands, or buts there," he said, according to the website "The parasitic drag from the antlers that were attached to the right wing, and then also the last thing would be the wind, the mechanical wind turbulence at the end of the takeoff area, which unfortunately, led to this accident. "If you would have been able to take one of those items out, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But those things all in combination led to this tragic accident." Peltola was the husband of former US Representative Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native to sit in Congress. The Democrat beat former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in a 2022 special election, but lost her re-election bid in November last year. hg/jgc
CTV News
18 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
‘A very awkward and bizarre situation' sees St. Marys officials cease park uses at former cemetery
An old St. Marys cemetery at East Ward Park on July 23, 2025. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) More than 140 years after its last burial, the souls at rest in a St. Marys cemetery have come back to 'haunt' the town. The community northeast of London has been forced to idle two baseball diamonds, which sit atop the former graveyard now known as East Ward Park. David Vessie has lived next door to the park since 1952. As a child, he would play in the weeds amongst the collapsed graves. 'Oh, yeah. All these here and all down at the end of the park. They were all over the place,' said Vessie. David Vessie St. Marys resident David Vessie on July 23, 2025. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) Today, behind a baseball diamond sits a stack of tombstones representing the lives of settlers who passed generations ago. It is one of two sections of stones on the edges of the vast park. The stones have rested here since sometime in the late 1950s or early 60s when service clubs cleaned up the overgrown cemetery and transformed it into a park. Over the following decades, most people in St. Marys have forgotten the dead still rest below. Although some remains were reinterred in the 1880s, the town recently learned some settlers remain. 'We believe that there are still quite a few bodies that are here,' stated Jenna McCartney of the Town of St. Marys. Jenna McCartney Jenna McCartney, clerk for the Town of St. Marys, on July 23, 2025. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) The information was discovered in an act of good faith. St. Marys is attempting to assume ownership of the land from three protestant churches, two of which no longer exist. As part of the process, they contacted the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO), an arms-length government agency, for insight. McCartney said that call sparked an inspection and, ultimately, a violation against the town, 'That's when it became identified that they didn't know that we were using it for active recreation currently.' Once notified of the violation, the town ceased baseball games at two diamonds on the former cemetery site. For now, a playground will remain. The BAO is expected to issue a final ruling by the end of summer. East Ward Park An old St. Marys cemetery at East Ward Park on July 23, 2025. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) 'We're maintaining the land and trying to make it a great space for people and to be respectful in the interim,' said St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee. 'So, it is a very awkward and bizarre situation, I would say. But hopefully going forward, we can work something out with the BAO.' Strathdee anticipates residents will be allowed to use the park for light uses, including picnics and reflection, in the future. 'We have operated it without any disrespect to anyone, and we'll have to see what the BAO says going forward,' he said. But Vessie is torn, 'It is a graveyard, and you've got to respect that. But you know, what harm are they (children) doing? They're just kids playing T-ball.'
CNN
a day ago
- General
- CNN
Too much moose meat and antlers caused a plane crash in Alaska that killed congresswoman's husband, the NTSB reports
Too much moose meat and antlers strapped to a wing caused a deadly small plane crash in Alaska, a nearly two-year long investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined in a report released Tuesday. The small Piper PA-18 plane had taken a group of hunters to a remote wilderness area near St. Mary's, Alaska on September 12, 2023, where they killed a moose, the report said. The first flight to ferry the meat to a larger airport was successful, but on a second trip the plane crashed just after takeoff. The hunters provided the pilot, who was the only person onboard the plane, with first aid, but he died a short time later. CNN previously reported the pilot killed was Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola Jr., the husband of Mary Peltola, who represented Alaska in the US House from 2022 to 2025. He also served as the regional director of the Alaska Bureau of Indian Affairs for several years before retiring in 2022. Investigators determined the plane was loaded with 520 pounds of cargo – which was 117 pounds more than the plane could handle. Besides moose meat, the aircraft also had a set of antlers strapped to the wing. While it is a allowed to hang antlers on aircraft wings in Alaska, the NTSB found the required formal Federal Aviation Administration approval for the practice had not been granted for this plane. The NTSB's report concluded that the cause of the crash was the excess weight and the 'unapproved external load' of the antlers, which 'degraded takeoff performance and flight characteristics' leading to a loss of control. The plane itself was more than 70 years old, but so many pieces had been replaced 'almost none of the original airplane existed,' the NTSB report said. The day before the crash Rep. Peltola attended a September 11 commemoration in Anchorage with President Joe Biden and flew with him to Washington, DC on Air Force One. 'Buzzy was a devoted public servant,' Biden said at the time of the crash. 'He is being remembered as a friend to all. But we know he was, first and always, the adored and devoted husband and father to a family now in pain.'
CNN
a day ago
- General
- CNN
Too much moose meat and antlers caused a plane crash in Alaska that killed congresswoman's husband, the NTSB reports
Too much moose meat and antlers strapped to a wing caused a deadly small plane crash in Alaska, a nearly two-year long investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined in a report released Tuesday. The small Piper PA-18 plane had taken a group of hunters to a remote wilderness area near St. Mary's, Alaska on September 12, 2023, where they killed a moose, the report said. The first flight to ferry the meat to a larger airport was successful, but on a second trip the plane crashed just after takeoff. The hunters provided the pilot, who was the only person onboard the plane, with first aid, but he died a short time later. CNN previously reported the pilot killed was Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola Jr., the husband of Mary Peltola, who represented Alaska in the US House from 2022 to 2025. He also served as the regional director of the Alaska Bureau of Indian Affairs for several years before retiring in 2022. Investigators determined the plane was loaded with 520 pounds of cargo – which was 117 pounds more than the plane could handle. Besides moose meat, the aircraft also had a set of antlers strapped to the wing. While it is a allowed to hang antlers on aircraft wings in Alaska, the NTSB found the required formal Federal Aviation Administration approval for the practice had not been granted for this plane. The NTSB's report concluded that the cause of the crash was the excess weight and the 'unapproved external load' of the antlers, which 'degraded takeoff performance and flight characteristics' leading to a loss of control. The plane itself was more than 70 years old, but so many pieces had been replaced 'almost none of the original airplane existed,' the NTSB report said. The day before the crash Rep. Peltola attended a September 11 commemoration in Anchorage with President Joe Biden and flew with him to Washington, DC on Air Force One. 'Buzzy was a devoted public servant,' Biden said at the time of the crash. 'He is being remembered as a friend to all. But we know he was, first and always, the adored and devoted husband and father to a family now in pain.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Bizarre reason for Alaska plane crash that killed congresswoman's moose hunter husband revealed
A plane crash that killed a congresswoman's hunter husband was caused by the aircraft being overloaded with moose meat and the unapproved installation of antlers on the right wing, a report has found. Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola Jr., 57, was killed nearly two years ago when his plane crashed about 65 miles northeast of the small western Alaska community of St Mary's. The small Piper PA-18 Super Cub had taken off from a remote hunting camp but went down shortly after takeoff on September 12, 2023. Peltola, whose wife Mary Peltola was a congresswoman at the time, was found conscious but died at the scene. He was the only person on board the aircraft. Federal investigators have now revealed the plane was overweight for takeoff and encountered drag from a set of antlers mounted outside, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report released Tuesday. The avid moose hunter was a former Alaska regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and worked for decades for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He received his commercial pilot's license in 2004, requiring him to use corrective lenses at all distances, according to an FAA database. His death came almost exactly a year after his wife was sworn in as Alaska's lone US House member, following a special election for the seat. A small plane crash that killed Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola Jr. was overweight for takeoff and encountered drag from a set of antlers mounted outside, the National Transportation Safety Board has determined Peltola was killed when his small Piper PA-18 Super Cub crashed shortly after takeoff on September 12, 2023, about 65 miles northeast of St Mary's, Alaska Peltola flew the plane above its maximum takeoff weight and affixed a set of moose antlers on the right wing strut that caused a drag, along with turbulent flight conditions in the area, the NTSB report states. Downdrafts, 'along with the overweight airplane and the added drag and lateral weight imbalance caused by the antlers on the right wing, would likely have resulted in the airplane having insufficient power and/or control authority to maneuver above terrain,' the report states. The Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub crashed Sept. 12, 2023, northeast of the small western Alaska community of St Mary's. Peltola had days earlier taken five hunters, a guide and equipment from the community of Holy Cross to an airstrip at St Mary's. The group set up camp next to the runway, which was near hilly terrain and about 70 miles northwest of Holy Cross, the agency said. The day before the crash, the group got a moose and made plans with Peltola, via satellite messaging devices, for him to transport the meat, the NTSB said. On the day of the crash, Peltola had already picked up a load of meat and had returned for another. He did not use scales to weigh the cargo, the agency said. Mary Peltola and her husband Eugene Peltola celebrate after results showed her to be the apparent winner in Alaska's special US House election on August 31, 2022 The Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub crashed Sept. 12, 2023, northeast of the small western Alaska community of St Mary's Two hunters were at the site when the crash occurred and provided aid to Peltola, but he died of his injuries within about two hours. 'Given the remote location of the accident site, which was about 400 miles from a hospital, and accessible only by air, providing the pilot with prompt medical treatment following the accident was not possible,' Tuesday's report states. The agency said carrying antlers on the outside of a plane is a common practice in Alaska but requires formal approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, with a notation in the plane's logbooks. 'There was no evidence that such approval had been granted for the accident airplane,' the report states. Eugene was laid to rest at Bethel Memorial Cemetery in September 2023, where several Alaska bush planes conducted a flyover in a missing man formation. Mary stood nearby stoic and clutching an American flag as loved ones delivered their tributes to her late husband. After the service concluded, the casket was opened for a community viewing and one by one, everyone in attendance waited to say their final goodbyes. Mary Peltola, (pictured with Eugene) was the first Alaska Native in Congress. She won a full, two-year term in November 2022 but lost her reelection bid last November. She has kept a relatively low public profile since then The congresswoman personally thanked everyone as they filed by. Mary Peltola, who is Yup'ik, was the first Alaska Native in Congress. She won a full, two-year term in November 2022 but lost her reelection bid last November. She has kept a relatively low public profile since then.
