de Havilland Otter in Alaska

SteveC

SteveC

"Laconic"
Staff member
Anybody heard of this yet?:
NTSB Launching Team to Investigate Crash of a de Havilland Otter Air Taxi in Alaska

July 7, 2013
The National Transportation Safety Board is launching a go-team to Alaska to investigate today's crash of a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter. The air taxi crashed at Soldotna Airport in Soldotna, Alaska, at 11:20 a.m. local time.

NTSB Senior Aviation Accident Investigator Dan Bower will serve as investigator-in-charge. NTSB Board Member Earl F. Weener is accompanying the team and will serve as the principal spokesman.

Public Affairs Specialist Eric Weiss will also be on-scene in Alaska to coordinate media activities. He can be reached at 202-297-3490.

For the latest information related to the investigation and the time and location of press briefings, follow us on Twitter at @NTSB or check ntsb.gov.
Click to expand...
 
http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2013-07-07/plane-crashes-at-soldotna-airport

10 killed in Soldotna plane crash
Posted: July 7, 2013 - 1:59pm | Updated: July 7, 2013 - 4:50pm


Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Investigators look at the remains of a fixed-wing aircraft that was engulfed in flames Sunday July 7, 2013 at the Soldotna Airport in Soldotna, Alaska. No survivors were located. A pilot and nine passengers were reported to have been on board.


By SARA J. HARDAN
Peninsula Clarion
A locally owned charter plane crashed in Soldotna late Sunday morning killing all 10 aboard, including the pilot, according to authorities.
The single-engine De Havilland Otter, registered to Rediske Air, Inc. of Nikiski had nine passengers and one pilot aboard when the accident happened at Soldotna’s Municipal Airport, authorities said.
National Transportation and Safety Board spokesperson Lynn Lunsford said that information coming into his office Sunday was conflicting and unclear if the plane was landing or taking off at the time of the incident, he said.
Will Satathite, on hand at Rediske Air’s Nikiski office, confirmed Sunday afternoon that the aircraft was flown by Nikiski pilot Willy Rediske with nine passengers onboard. Rediske was president of the small aviation company centered on the Kenai Peninsula.
Satathite also said that Rediske Air, Inc. has an office at the Soldotna airport.
According to Megan Peters with the Alaska State Troopers, Soldotna police received a report of a plane crash at the Soldotna Airport located down Funny River Road shortly before 11:20a.m.
Soldotna police, fire and medic personnel with Central Emergency Services and Alaska State Troopers responded to find the aircraft was fully engulfed in flames, which CES put out.

Lunsford confirmed there were no survivors. Investigators from Anchorage were en route to Soldotna Sunday afternoon, he said. Since the crash was fatal, the NTSB will be in charge of the investigation upon their arrival, he said.
Click to expand...
 
Oh damn! I had met the pilot at one of my previous jobs. He seemed like a great guy. May everybody RIP.
 


Willy was the guy who told me, "Bo, here's the deal.... If I'm going to hire you, you need to be up here, and we need to have a cup of coffee."

We never did get the chance to sit down and have coffee.....
 
GX said:
Willy was the guy who told me, "Bo, here's the deal.... If I'm going to hire you, you need to be up here, and we need to have a cup of coffee."

We never did get the chance to sit down and have coffee.....
Click to expand...

Oh wow, are you working for them?
 
z987k said:
Oh wow, are you working for them?
Click to expand...


No. I got the offer from my current employer 10 minutes after leaving Rediske. He told me to "come back tomorrow for that cup of coffee". Funny how things work. The NTSB investigator did come in to use the bathroom while I was using the simulator at Soldotna. No witnesses, as of yet. He also gave me the basics of what they know about phase of flight, and approximate attitude of the airplane at impact. But, after looking at these pics after downloading them, it's easy to see all of that. The wing that you see on the left is actually the left wing. The right wing is somewhere underneath the wreckage.

Sad day. Willy was, at the least, owner and CP. Gonna be tough period for Rediske.
 
GX said:


Willy was the guy who told me, "Bo, here's the deal.... If I'm going to hire you, you need to be up here, and we need to have a cup of coffee."

We never did get the chance to sit down and have coffee.....
Click to expand...

I wonder if the elevator's "up" position is consequential.
 
Murdoughnut said:
I wonder if the elevator's "up" position is consequential.
Click to expand...


I think MikeD is more qualified than I am to answer that. The speculation machine is in high gear out here. Willy was really high time, and has been flying Ak. a long time (means very little when investigating these things, I suppose). Naturally, people are pointing at many things. One thing that I heard today is that the Otter is known to have jack screw issues. I don't know much about Otters, but people seem to be talking about that. They've also said CG shift, and pilot seat sliding on the rails during takeoff, and he pulled the yoke with him. All speculation at this point, mostly because nobody saw the crash. And in a small town, the entire town knew that he had perished before the fire was put out, so my guess is that somebody would have come forward by now if they witnessed it, but that, too, could be erroneous. Again, not qualified.

Probably going to go back out there this afternoon. When I was out there this morning, the wreckage had been covered, and everything is awaiting the arrival of the alphabet from DC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top