Prominent bird researcher from Maine killed in last week's North Slope helicopter crash
The pilot and sole passenger were killed in the crash, which occurred 25 to 30 miles southwest of Deadhorse. The Robinson R-66 helicopter was operated by Pollux Aviation.
The helicopter took off from Deadhorse at 10:30 or 10:40 a.m., according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Pollux lost contact with its tracking signal just before 11 a.m.
The pilot received a weather clearance before taking off, federal officials say. The Special Visual Flight Rules clearance is commonly used, especially in rural Alaska, to land in low ceilings or visibility.
The crash occurred on flat, featureless, snow-covered terrain, NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson said Monday. An NTSB investigator reached the crash site by helicopter on Friday for an on-scene examination but the agency still needs to remove the wreckage, Johnson said.
Bad weather "pushed them off the site" and back to Deadhorse on Friday, he said. The agency is hoping to get a helicopter out Monday to sling out the wreckage.
The North Slope Borough has not publicly identified either the pilot or the passenger. A spokesperson on Monday morning said the borough was awaiting permission from family members. A Pollux representative on Monday declined to identify the pilot.
Passenger Shiloh Schulte was identified by Manomet Conservation Sciences, the Massachusetts avian research nonprofit that employed him as senior shorebird scientist. The nonprofit is involved in research from Alaska to Argentina, according to its website.
Schulte was conducting conservation work at the time of the crash, according to a statement from Manomet. He was coordinator for the American Oystercatcher Recovery Program.
"Shiloh worked tirelessly and resourcefully, collaborating with partners along the Eastern Seaboard to help rebuild the American Oystercatcher population by 45%," the statement said. "Shiloh gave his life in the service of something greater than himself, dedicating himself to preserving the natural world for future generations."
The nonprofit created an online memorial site that by Monday featured numerous accounts from friends and colleagues as well as several photos of Schulte in various aircraft conducting research.
Schulte was from Kennebunk, Maine, according to local media reports.
A separate GoFundme fundraising site set up by Schulte's family called him "a lifelong birdwatcher, conservationist and scientist whose passion for the natural world was infectious" and said he died while conducting remote field research in Alaska.
"Shiloh was doing what he loved most — working in nature to protect the birds and wild places he cherished so deeply," it said.
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