2010 Alaska DHC-3 Otter crash
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | August 9, 2010 |
Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
Site | Near Aleknagik 59°19′46″N 158°22′52″W / 59.32944°N 158.38111°W |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | de Havilland Canada DHC-3T Turbo Otter |
Operator | GCI |
Registration | N455A |
Flight origin | Nerka Lake, Alaska |
Destination | HRM Sports camp, Nushagak River, Alaska |
Occupants | 9 |
Passengers | 8 |
Crew | 1 |
Fatalities | 5 |
Injuries | 4 |
Survivors | 4 |
On August 9, 2010, a privately operated
The aircraft, a single-engine de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter registered to GCI, crashed on a mountainside while on a flight between two fishing lodges. Stevens and O'Keefe had been on a fishing trip. The wreckage was quickly located after an aerial search, but rescue efforts were hampered by poor weather.[4]
Accident
The floatplane crashed at around 2:30 p.m.
Rescue efforts
Local responders were on the mountain within a half hour of the airplane being located around 6:30 p.m. A doctor and emergency medical technicians were dropped off by helicopter the same day[10] and spent the night providing aid to crash survivors.
Early in the morning as the Alaska Air National Guard arrived at the scene, also by helicopter, the first responders assisted rescuers in navigating to the site with rain and fog in the area hampering rescue and recovery efforts.[3][6][11]
U.S. Coast Guard assets from
A spokesperson for the Alaska National Guard said that rescuers were giving medical aid to survivors of the crash,
Passengers
The aircraft was carrying eight passengers and one pilot. Four of the passengers and the pilot died and two more were badly injured,
Stevens and O'Keefe had been fishing together before, and had been planning a fishing trip to a site near Dillingham at the time of the crash.
Also among the dead was one of Stevens' former staff members, Bill Phillips. His youngest son, Willy, was seriously injured, and had to spend the night at the crash site with his dead father[21] along with Jim Morhard, who survived.[22]
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent a team to the site of the accident to investigate the cause of the crash.[23] The team returned an inconclusive report in May 2011. They speculated that the pilot, a recovered stroke victim, may have fallen asleep or had a seizure, but there was no direct evidence to support these theories. The report was critical of the Federal Aviation Administration's re-certification process, stating:
The Federal Aviation Administration's internal guidance for medical certification of pilots following stroke is inadequate because it is conflicting and unclear, does not specifically address the risk of recurrence associated with such an event, and does not specifically recommend a neuropsychological evaluation (formal cognitive testing) to evaluate potential subtle cognitive impairment.
The report went on to note that the airplane was equipped with a
References
- ^ "Reports: Former Sen. Ted Stevens in Alaska Plane Crash". PBS Newshour. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Ex-NASA chief O'Keefe survives Alaska crash that killed Stevens". USA Today. August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ a b "Rescuers At Ted Stevens Alaska Crash Site". NPR. August 10, 2010. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ Halsey, Ashley III and Lonnae O'Neal Parker. "The Waiting: Survivors of the Ted Stevens plane crash in Alaska wondered if help would reach them in time." The Washington Post. Sunday November 28, 2010. 3. Retrieved on November 24, 2010.
- ^ a b c the CNN Wire Staff (August 11, 2010). "Former U.S. senator may have been on plane that crashed in Alaska". CNN. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ a b ""GCI executive recalls plane crash that killed Ted Stevens" – Alaska Dispatch". alaskadispatch.com. December 14, 2010. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ Yardley, William; Robbins, Liz (August 10, 2010). "Former Senator Ted Stevens Is in Plane Crash". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ Flying Conditions Had Been Poor in Crash Area Alaska Public Radio Network 8-10-10
- ^ Stevens Dies in Plane Crash; Some Survivors Flown to Anchorage Alaska Public Radio Network 8-10-10
- ^ Saul, Joshua; Craig Medred, Jill Burke and Patti Epler (August 11, 2010). "In GCI crash, grassroots search and rescue led to 'horrible' crash scene". Alaska Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
- ^ Murphy, Kim (August 10, 2010). "Alaska plane crash: Former Sen. Ted Stevens feared dead in Alaska plane crash". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ Becky Bohrer (August 10, 2010). "The Associated Press: Rescuers arrive to help Alaska plane crash victims". Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ "Plane carrying ex-Sen. Stevens crashes-TODAYshow.com". Today.msnbc.msn.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ a b "Preliminary Report". NTSB. August 27, 2010. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ AOPA Air Safety Institute Passenger Safety Brief video, time index 10:10 (October 2012)
- ^ a b ""Former Senator Ted Stevens dies in Alaska plane crash" – BBC News". BBC. December 14, 2004. Archived from the original on August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ "Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens dies in plane crash". Associated Press. August 10, 2010. Archived from the original on August 16, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ Halsey, Ashley III and Lonnae O'Neal Parker. "The Waiting: Survivors of the Ted Stevens plane crash in Alaska wondered if help would reach them in time." The Washington Post. Sunday November 28, 2010. 1. Retrieved on November 24, 2010. "Emerging from his haze, Sean O'Keefe felt a bizarre sensation in his mouth. Like chewing on gravel without taking a bite. He explored that mystery with his tongue until it registered: His mouth was awash with his own broken teeth."
- ^ Mark HosenballAugust 11, 2010 (August 11, 2010). "NTSB Warned About Alaska Pilots' Risky Ways—and Ted Stevens Argued". Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Pilot in GCI plane crash lost son-in-law in C-17 crash last month Joshua Saul, Alaska Dispatch October 8, 2010 Archived August 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ E:60 report, "Band of Brothers", November 8, 2011
- ^ The Waiting: Survivors of the Ted Stevens plane crash in Alaska wondered if help would reach them in time
- ^ Yardley, William; Robbins, Liz (August 10, 2010). "Former Senator Ted Stevens Is in Plane Crash". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
NTSB said it was sending a team of investigators to the crash site
- ^ Burke, Jim (May 24, 2011). "Investigators find no clear cause for crash that killed Ted Stevens". Alaska Dispatch.
External links
External images | |
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Photos of N455A at Airliners.net | |
Photos of N455A at JetPhotos.net | |
Photos of N455A at Flickr |
- Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- NTSB Factual Report ANC10MA068 NTSB Factual Report Aviation for NTSB ID ANC10MA068 at the Wayback Machine (archived April 8, 2013)
- NTSB Final Report
- NTSB Briefing of Accident ANC10MA068 — Probable Cause findings