Posted on 08/01/2020 7:08:18 AM PDT by RandFan
A state lawmaker in Alaska and six others were killed on Friday morning after two planes collided mid-air in the city of Soldotna.
State Rep. Gary Knopp (R), 67, was the sole occupant of a Piper PA-12 when it collided with a single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver around 8:30 a.m. local time near the Soldotna Airport, The Anchorage Daily News reported.
Six people were confirmed dead at the scene except for one person who succumbed to injuries while being transported to a hospital, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
The other plane is designed with pontoons to make water landings, according to officials. It was operated by High Adventure Air Charter, a company that runs flights for bear-watching and glacier tours as well as fishing trips.
Onboard the plane was a family visiting from South Carolina, identified by local media as Caleb Hulsey, 26; Heather Hulsey, 25; Mackay Hulsey, 24; and Kirstin Wright, 23.
The others killed include local pilot Gregory Bell, 57, and guide David Rogers, 40 of Kansas.
“Rose and I are heartbroken for the families of today's victims, and I can assure them that investigators will have the State's full cooperation as they begin to unravel this morning's tragic events,” Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (D) said in a statement.
Weather reports indicate that there was clear visibility on Friday morning. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the crash.
Rita Geller, a shop attendant at a nearby golf course, told the Anchorage Daily News that she heard the collision and witnessed one of the plans fall.
“I ran to more of a clearing and basically saw it explode. The engine, things were flying off of it. I didn’t see the second plane, but I saw a lot of debris flying around,” she said. “It was horrific. It was just like 9/11.”
The governor said he has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims for three days in honor of Knopp.
“Throughout his 42 years on the Kenai Peninsula, Gary became well known as an avid outdoorsman, a skilled pilot, and a dedicated public servant,” the governor said. “His presence will no doubt be missed by those he faithfully served.”
Knopp, a Montana native, moved to Alaska in 1979 and enjoyed flying, hunting, and spending time outdoors, according to a statement from the Alaska House Majority.
A longtime contractor and flight instructor, Knopp was elected to represent Alaska House District 30 in 2016.
“I’m devastated and shocked to learn of the crash that claimed Gary Knopp’s life,” said House Speaker Bryce Edgmon. “Gary was a one-of-a-kind leader and a true Alaskan who worked tirelessly for his district in the Legislature. He will be missed by many.”
Geese... Really sad... Sounds like a whole family gone. Awful.
Very sad. Exuberance and then disaster. I’m staying on the porch waiting for the hurricane. My condolences to all. So young. Its only news because we lost a politico. I cannot imagine the horror. RIP.
A terrible, terrible tragedy.
I have been flying for 25 years; we live on a small uncontrolled airport with our planes. We have never had a midair collision here. Radios are not required at this location just a working set of eyeballs.
Midair collisions happen more at small airports where a left traffic pattern is used when you are landing one direction and a right traffic pattern is used when you land or take off in the other direction. This is often done for noise abatement, but if the runway slopes one way or the other or their are issues with terrain or obstructions it is also very common.
If pilots are not using radios to make “blind anouncements” on the “common traffic advisery frequency” at uncontrolled airports informing others of their position... and one pilot decides to land one direction and the other decides to land the other direction this places both airplanes in the same airspace and altitudes heading in opposite directions. Typically they are closing in on each other at speeds approaching 200 mph or more while both pilots are going through the final stages of their prelanding checklists or procedures.
There are also obvious issues when a planes is taking off and there is a “crown” in the runway so you can’t see another plane getting ready to take off in the other direction. Our airport is only 3,500 feet long and there are tall trees as you approach from the South. Our neighbor has a souped up Mooney and he has to skim those trees to get his plane on the ground before the half way point in the runway. You can’t see him coming on the ground until he gets past the trees.
These types of issues and more that I have not mentioned make a pretty strong argument for using radios on a “common traffic advisery frequency” at uncontrolled airports.
I’m curious. Why aren’t radio call outs required at your airport? Don’t all the planes based there have them?
Thanks for that, which answers my question: “how does one manage to steer his aircraft into another while airborne?”
I have flown (in) float-planes out of Soldotna. Very sorry for these folks.
But its Saturday ...
No, we have ultralights, experimental aircraft, and historic aircraft that do not necessarily have radios built in to them. Small handheld radios are available but some people do not like to use them.
Our airport has over a hundred residences built around it another 75 or so based at the FBO (business that rents hangars and tie-downs, has a flight school and sells fuel). We also have our own dedicated CTAF (common traffic advisery frequency) It is busy enough that very few people do not use a radio to anounce themselves. Many other private airports have only a few aircraft based on them and people flying in and out may typically not announce themselves.
RIP.
Forgot a basic question. Don’t you always take off or land into the wind? Doesn’t every airport have a windsock?
I’m aware of cross-winds but I thought airports were designed and pointed for prevailing winds. Maybe just a stupid question but here on the west coast of Florida the winds only come from the NEW or S.
Little airports only have a single runway so you do what you have to do? Kudos to you but I’d probably be a pilot that skips the pre-flight. Yep. Got gas - we’re good to go.
That’s why I don’t have a license.
At most airports you almost always take off into the wind, and nearly all small airports have windsocks, flags or other types of indicators. But there are many days when there is not enough wind to cause the windsock or other indicators to give much indication. There are also many airports which have obstructions... usually hills or trees at one end which make it safest to take in one direction and land in the other under most condition. This is not to mention airports which slope pretty seriously one way or the other. So at many places the wind has to be above a certain velocity before you take off or land into the wind.
The airport we live at has rising terrain and tall trees to the South, so most of the time we take off to the North unless the wind is blowing more than a few mph from the South. One time we got bad landing instructions for a small landing strip in the San Juan Islands. The person we were coming into visit did not realize that they needed to mention that the strip had deep gravel and sloped downhill to the North. The shape of the island made the airport appear flat from the air. We missed sliding over a 100 foot cliff at the end of the runway by about 30 feet. By the time we realized that we were in serious danger, it was too late to do a go-around. It was a serious learning experience.
Thanks! I’ll fly with you anywhere. Any landing ... you know the rest.
So you ever been to Siesta Key in FL? ;-)
Thank you.
What the real shame is, AK has a system in place to prevent just this thing. RNAV and AIS-D.
Similar to the AIS system seen for boats, the airborne system works much the same way - if installed.
Sadly, this is a cost many recreational flyers skip spending the money on for an install..
Ak sees many mid-air collisions, too many given the technology available to prevent such....
;-)
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