At 1PM yesterday a float plane with 6 POB crashed on takeoff from Halo Bay. Two are in Kodiak hospitals now in critical condition, and three are serious. Not much more info.
OMG! They sure have a troublesome track record. My wife and I were there 2 years ago next month and found them to be very safety conscious. However, the weather is so changeable anything can happen. The last crash was on take off also. I wonder what could be going wrong? Hope the people are going to be OK!
Still no names, but they've upgraded everyone's condition to stable while saying nothing more than hypothermia and other injuries. Cameras mounted on the Coast Guard helos and C-130's documented the rescue and clips were aired on TV this evening. The plane was shown adjacent to the island in Hallo Bay in the process of sinking as the survivors were hoisted into the helo. It looked like pretty substantial swells with whitecaps, even away from those that were cascading onto the island. Calling on my knowledge of sea states, I'm betting the winds at the time of the rescue at least were at or above 20 knots. Depending on which of the Beavers the air charter was using (they have/had three) five passengers and gear could have been approaching max load. On rough water it's as easy for an unusual wave to capsize an accelerating float plane as a boat. All speculation, but based on experience.
Float planes?? They used to use Homer Air out of Homer and landed and took off with wheels on the gravel beach. Hank know better than all of us, but the seas around there must be pretty unpredictable to count on float planes. It's not like landing on a smooth remote lake.
Most service out of Kodiak is via float planes. Landings are almost always on the river, but especially with heavier loads takeoffs are from the bay. Typically with a heavy load the pilot will "shuttle" small groups of passengers or gear (within reduced weight limits for take off from the river) down to the bay, then reassemble the full load for takeoff on the longer reach of the bay. I've flown in and out of Hallow Bay from Kodiak since 1976, and in fact have never even seen a wheel plane there. Of course I haven't gone back since it became reknowned.
When I first heard of the crash with no other details, my first guess was that it had occurred during a takeoff from the confines of the river, whether due to an inexperienced pilot or sudden wind shift. Most planes delivering clients to remote locations on or around Kodiak are on floats, while wheels are more common on planes originating from Homer. Just one of those local things.
Andrew Airways is conducting an internal investigation into the accident Monday in which one of its airplanes crashed into Hallo Bay during a bear-viewing trip.
Andrew employees are “piecing together the events of the incident,” the company said in a press release this morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board has also started an investigation into the accident.
Six people were onboard the DeHavilland Beaver when it crashed in the bay. All six survived after being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in a matter of minutes. Five were hospitalized in Kodiak Monday.
An Andrew employee confirmed this list of passengers and crew: pilot Garrett Heusser; guide Dan Dorman; passengers Ben Teague and Peggy Teague of Childress, Texas; and Kodiak residents Chris and Barbara Volpe.
A spokesperson at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center said one person was still in the hospital this morning.
Andrew Airways said the Beaver, which was sinking while the rescue operation took place, was located and retrieved for salvage.
The guide is a friend, but it may be a while before it's right to ask him for details. He is also a pilot of long standing, and I've flown countless hours with him. He was once a bull rider of some reknown when I was a bull fighter in rodeos, but those are stories from our distant youth. In the meantime the NTSB is having a thorough look.
Discussion
7 repliesPlease keep us posted, my wife and I went to Hallo Bay and got to know Clint and Smyra pretty well along with the other camp personel
http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=3150
When I first heard of the crash with no other details, my first guess was that it had occurred during a takeoff from the confines of the river, whether due to an inexperienced pilot or sudden wind shift. Most planes delivering clients to remote locations on or around Kodiak are on floats, while wheels are more common on planes originating from Homer. Just one of those local things.
Andrew Airways is conducting an internal investigation into the accident Monday in which one of its airplanes crashed into Hallo Bay during a bear-viewing trip.
Andrew employees are “piecing together the events of the incident,” the company said in a press release this morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board has also started an investigation into the accident.
Six people were onboard the DeHavilland Beaver when it crashed in the bay. All six survived after being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in a matter of minutes. Five were hospitalized in Kodiak Monday.
An Andrew employee confirmed this list of passengers and crew: pilot Garrett Heusser; guide Dan Dorman; passengers Ben Teague and Peggy Teague of Childress, Texas; and Kodiak residents Chris and Barbara Volpe.
A spokesperson at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center said one person was still in the hospital this morning.
Andrew Airways said the Beaver, which was sinking while the rescue operation took place, was located and retrieved for salvage.
The guide is a friend, but it may be a while before it's right to ask him for details. He is also a pilot of long standing, and I've flown countless hours with him. He was once a bull rider of some reknown when I was a bull fighter in rodeos, but those are stories from our distant youth. In the meantime the NTSB is having a thorough look.