AS350 Helo Crash in Palmer, Alaska
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AS350 Helo Crash in Palmer, Alaska
Helicopter crash near Knik Glacier kills 5, leaving sole survivor in serious condition
- Author: Annie Berman
- Updated: 17 minutes ago
- Published 6 hours ago
- Five are dead and one survivor is in serious condition after a helicopter crashed Saturday night in the area of Knik Glacier, according to Alaska State Troopers.
A team from Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was dispatched to the crash site just after 10 p.m. on Saturday, troopers wrote, after state troopers received a report of an overdue helicopter and the location of possible crash debris. It wasn’t immediately clear from the trooper statement whether the crash site was on or near the glacier.
The deceased were identified Sunday evening as 52-year-old Colorado resident Gregory Harms, 56-year-old Czech Republic resident Petr Kellner, 50-year-old Czech Republic resident Benjamin Larochaix, 38-year-old Girdwood resident Sean McMannany, and pilot 33-year-old Anchorage, Alaska resident Zach Russel.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Troopers wrote that the rescue team arrived to find five occupants of helicopter dead and one survivor, who was transported for medical care. “The survivor remains in serious but stable condition, and is receiving medical care at an Anchorage area hospital,” troopers wrote Sunday evening.
By Sunday evening, the five bodies from the crash site had been recovered, and next of kin for the deceased had been notified, state troopers reported.
Tordrillo Mountain Lodge had chartered the helicopter from Soloy Helicopters, a Wasilla-based charter company, according to a spokeswoman for the lodge. The lodge bills itself as a luxury multi-sport resort, and offers guided heli-skiing trips through the winter that start at $15,000 per person.“This news is devastating to our staff, the community in which we operate and the families of the deceased. In 17 years of operations this is the first time we’ve had to face an event of this measure,” read a statement from the lodge.
The Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Army National Guard, and Alaska Mountain Rescue Group attempted recovery efforts at the crash site Sunday, troopers wrote, and next of kin notifications are ongoing.
A flight restriction that was put in place in the area of Knik Glacier for a recovery mission was lifted Sunday evening.
Helicopter crash near Knik Glacier kills 5, leaving sole survivor in serious condition - Anchorage Daily News (adn.com)
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The NTSB is investigating the crash Saturday evening of an Airbus AS 350 B3 helicopter in Palmer, Alaska. An investigator is headed to the crash scene.
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And yet another top 0.1% loosing their liffe a rotorcrafts...
I only know two of them personally but they both decided to stay clear of those flying contraptions as much as possible (not always possible apparently in that milieu...). Wise men.
I only know two of them personally but they both decided to stay clear of those flying contraptions as much as possible (not always possible apparently in that milieu...). Wise men.
From subsequent media reports accident happened at 18:35LT (GMT -8). Sunset on 27 March was at 20:33LT
Relevant ANC Metars (accident site 40km E of ANC):
PANC 280153Z 34013KT 10SM FEW080 01/M12 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP127 T00061122
PANC 280253Z 34014G20KT 10SM FEW080 01/M12 A2995 RMK AO2 SLP145 T00061117 53042
Data suggests that the usual culprit, granite in them clouds was not in play in this case.
Relevant ANC Metars (accident site 40km E of ANC):
PANC 280153Z 34013KT 10SM FEW080 01/M12 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP127 T00061122
PANC 280253Z 34014G20KT 10SM FEW080 01/M12 A2995 RMK AO2 SLP145 T00061117 53042
Data suggests that the usual culprit, granite in them clouds was not in play in this case.
It's a way of saying CFIT in IMC.
Such clouds are also sometimes referred to as "cumulo-granitis", to indicate the likely outcome should you enter IMC without terrain clearance or ability to control the aircraft.
Such clouds are also sometimes referred to as "cumulo-granitis", to indicate the likely outcome should you enter IMC without terrain clearance or ability to control the aircraft.
Tragic details after $23bn businessman dies in helicopter crash
Tragic details after $23bn businessman dies in helicopter crash (yahoo.com)
"The helicopter ... just missed clearing an Alaskan ridge by three to five metres when it crashed, preliminary investigations show."
Maybe I was a bit hasty in drawing conclusions. Little tuft of fast forming cloud at the wrong place does it (or a downdraft), though neither should come as a surprise to a seasoned Alaskan operator.
Maybe I was a bit hasty in drawing conclusions. Little tuft of fast forming cloud at the wrong place does it (or a downdraft), though neither should come as a surprise to a seasoned Alaskan operator.
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My guess .... going by the few pictures available is that the fuselage was reasonably intact , but everything rolling down the mountain for 900 feet likely caused the casualties .... bodies thrown out and scattered all over the place etc.
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It doesn't have to be a cloud covering a snow covered ridge.
I was flying Puma across Norway in January. My destination was the other side of a ridge that I could see clearly in the distance on a gin clear day. Cruising along and there was a sudden squawk from the radalt and the side of a rock wizzed by my right ear. It was then, because it was now in shadow, that I saw this ridge I had just flown over without seeing it because it was invisible against an identical background.
I was flying Puma across Norway in January. My destination was the other side of a ridge that I could see clearly in the distance on a gin clear day. Cruising along and there was a sudden squawk from the radalt and the side of a rock wizzed by my right ear. It was then, because it was now in shadow, that I saw this ridge I had just flown over without seeing it because it was invisible against an identical background.
I think you've just pipped me to it and won a gold-star for being a churlish numbnut.
As long as it has made you feel a bit better about yourself then it was all worth it.
There is more to a topic like this than dissecting the million and one ways pilots are determined to fly into the ground.
If I had one of the world's wealthiest with me, I would be considering my choices carefully.
When the sherbet hits fan, lawyers come knocking and someone will have to pay.
Fact of the matter is high net worth individuals will carry limitations on their modes of transport.
Some may argue that if he were onboard a flight with a proper two-(pick the pronoun that least offends) crew, he may still be here.
Or not.
As long as it has made you feel a bit better about yourself then it was all worth it.
There is more to a topic like this than dissecting the million and one ways pilots are determined to fly into the ground.
If I had one of the world's wealthiest with me, I would be considering my choices carefully.
When the sherbet hits fan, lawyers come knocking and someone will have to pay.
Fact of the matter is high net worth individuals will carry limitations on their modes of transport.
Some may argue that if he were onboard a flight with a proper two-(pick the pronoun that least offends) crew, he may still be here.
Or not.
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