Alaska Airlines resumes operations after tech outage grounds all flights
The National Transportation Board last month credited the crew of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 with the survival of passengers when a door plug panel flew off the plane shortly after takeoff on Jan. 5, 2024, leaving a hole that sucked objects out of the cabin.
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In September, Alaska Airlines said it grounded its flights in Seattle briefly due to 'significant disruptions' from an unspecified technology problem that was resolved within hours.
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USA Today
19 hours ago
- USA Today
Plane was overweight with moose meat, antlers before fatal crash in Alaska, NTSB says
An Alaska plane crash that killed the husband of former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) was likely caused by excess moose meat weight and antlers on board, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board. Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr. was flying a plane in a remote wilderness area in St. Mary's, Alaska, during a hunting trip on Sept. 12, 2023, when it crashed. He died from blunt force injuries a few hours after the accident, according to the NTSB. NTSB's final report about the crash, which was released July 22, said the plane was "heavily loaded" with moose meat, and antlers were mounted to its right wing without proper authorization. As a result, the plane was overloaded by more than 100 pounds, and the antlers interfered with takeoff, likely causing the crash, according to the NTSB. Plane crash: Plane crashes in Russia's far east, nearly 50 people on board feared dead Plane was carrying second load of moose meat when it crashed Peltola was transporting moose meat in two separate loads to an operating base after a hunting trip. After Peltola successfully completed a trip to transport the first load, the hunters loaded the plane, a Piper PA, more heavily with meat for the second trip, NTSB said in the report. In addition to carrying about 520 pounds of moose meat, the plane was also transporting antlers attached to the right wing during that trip. In total, the plane's weight was 117 pounds over the maximum allowed, according to the NTSB. While carrying antlers externally is a common practice in Alaska, it requires special approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, which the plane did not have, according to the NTSB. During takeoff, the plane became airborne before crashing moments later. Peltola survived the initial impact but died less than two hours later, the report said. According to the NTSB's report, the probable cause of the crash was a combination of the airplane carrying more than its maximum approved weight as well as the external load of antlers, which likely degraded the plane's performance during takeoff. Pilot who died in plane crash was husband of former Alaska congresswoman Eugene Peltola Jr. previously served as regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Alaska before his death. He had his pilot's license since 1993, according to the NTSB. He was also married to former Rep. Mary Peltola, who served in Congress from 2022 until her reelection loss last year. Rep. Peltola's office said in a statement at the time of her husband's death that they were "heartbroken for the family's loss." "He was one of those people that was obnoxiously good at everything. He had a delightful sense of humor that lightened the darkest moments," the statement said. Former President Joe Biden also issued a statement following Peltola's death, calling him "a devoted public servant" and "friend to all." "Spend even a minute with Mary and you'll feel the love she has for her state and its people, and most of all, the love she has for her husband and their seven children," the statement said. Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
The Hill
2 days ago
- The Hill
Plane in crash that killed Peltola husband was overloaded with moose meat: NTSB
The plane crash that killed the husband of former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) was overloaded with moose meat, according to a Tuesday report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Eugene Peltola Jr. was flying solo almost two years ago in a Piper PA-18-150 small aircraft that was loaded with 117 pounds, measuring 6 percent over its maximum takeoff weight, the agency reported. 'It was so heavy that, even after consuming fuel enroute, the airplane still would have been about 180 lbs over its maximum landing weight upon reaching the destination,' the agency said of the Sept. 23, 2023 crash. Peltola was transporting meat from St. Mary's for a group of five hunters after successfully hunting a moose. His first trip was 'uneventful,' but the second flight struggled to take off, partially because the animal's antlers were strapped to the outside of the plane, the NTSB wrote in its report. Although the practice of carrying antlers externally is common in Alaska, it requires prior approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, as outlined by the NTSB. 'Following the accident, the cargo was examined and weighed, revealing a load of about 520 lbs that consisted primarily of moose meat and the set of antlers. About 150 lbs of meat was found in the forward section of the belly pod; the remaining portions were secured in the rear cabin seating area. The antlers were secured to the inboard side of the right wing strut,' the NTSB said. 'There was no evidence that any of the meat had shifted in flight, and the antlers remained firmly attached to the wing strut and were not interfering with any of the flight control cables,' the agency added. Investigators found that Peltola's plane was manufactured 70 years before the accident and underwent multiple major repairs so that almost none of the original airplane existed. However, the ultimate cause of death was from blunt force injuries. Onlookers rushed to help Peltola after the crash but without extensive medical treatment, authorities said he was unlikely to survive. 'Given the remote location of the accident site, which was about 400 miles from a hospital, and accessible only by air, providing the pilot with prompt medical treatment following the accident was not possible,' the NTSB said. Peltola had received his commercial license nearly two decades prior to the crash and worked for years at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
CNN
3 days ago
- CNN
A private company runs the control tower where a B-52 got too close to a passenger jet. It is more common than you might think
The control tower where a Delta Air Lines regional jet had to perform an 'aggressive maneuver' to avoid colliding with an Air Force B-52 bomber isn't staffed by the Federal Aviation Administration, but rather air traffic controllers working for a private company. It's more common than most fliers may think. About half of the control towers at civilian airports in the US are operated under contract by private companies, according to the FAA. Most are at smaller airports, like Minot International. On Friday, the B-52 bomber was conducting a flyover at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds, near the Minot airport that, 'was planned in advance and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration,' according to a statement from Minot Air Force Base. 'The tower did not advise of the inbound commercial aircraft,' the statement said. The passenger plane wasn't told about the bomber either, according to a video filmed inside the plane by a passenger and posted on TikTok. The pilot of the Delta jet, operated by regional carrier SkyWest Airlines, can be heard telling passengers that the aircraft was 'kind of, sort of coming at us' and it was safest to turn sharply to pass behind it. SkyWest, the FAA, and the military are all investigating what went wrong. The Minot International Control Tower is operated by Midwest ATC, which declined to comment to CNN. It operates 93 towers in the United States and handles more than eight million passengers a year. The company is a long-term provider of contract tower services, according to Michael McCormick, an associate professor and program coordinator of air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Despite these towers not being operated by the FAA, McCormick said there's no reason to believe they are not safe. 'In fact, the contract controllers at these towers are all former FAA or US military air traffic controllers,' he said. An audit, conducted in 2020 by the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General, found that contract towers are more cost effective than comparable FAA towers and have similar safety records. The FAA notes, 'all of the approximate 1,400 contract controllers meet the same qualification and training requirements as FAA air traffic controllers.' The Minot Tower is also one of the 171 federal contract towers represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the major air traffic controller union, who also represents FAA controllers. Some contracted towers are located at small airports in Albany, Georgia; Brownsville, Texas; and Key West, Florida. In cities with major airports, contracted towers operate at smaller fields like Houston Executive, Detroit City and Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. The FAA's Contract Tower Program started in 1982 to allow employees of private companies to staff towers, rather than FAA employees. McCormick said it was a result of the 1981 air traffic controllers' strike when 12,000 members walked off the job. After a shortage plagued the industry, low activity towers were at risk of being shut down to provide staffing at busier towers, he explained. 'That is when they came up with the Contract Tower Program where they would actually provide opportunity for contractors to take over those initial control towers that they were going to shut down,' McCormick said. Since then, he said, the program has grown. Generally, McCormick said, the towers are usually not equipped with radar displays. Controllers primarily rely on position reports from the aircraft and looking out the windows. While investigators have not made public what caused the close call in Minot, McCormick said the communication with the two planes doesn't appear to have been accurate, ultimately leading to the regional pilot's evasive maneuver. Overall, McCormick said having contracted towers increases safety – because the alternative for many of these small airports might be no tower at all. 'The contract tower program has operated safely, effectively and efficiently,' McCormick said. 'The contractors have provided great services, but at the same time, oversight needs to be strong.'
