Latest news with #ClintJohnson
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
4 injured after small float plane 'crash landed' at Katmai National Park
Authorities are investigating the crash of a small float plane in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve over the weekend that sent all four occupants, including the pilot, to the hospital. The small float plane, a Cessna 180J, "crash landed" at about 2:30 p.m. local time on July 5 near Brooks Camp within Katmai National Park, according to the National Park Service. Four occupants, including the pilot, were transported to an Anchorage area hospital with non-critical injuries, the park service said. Katmai National Park, a campground popular during the peak brown bear viewing season, is only accessible via small plane. National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska Chief Clint Johnson told Anchorage Daily News the agency was alerted of a crash "with four people on board reporting serious injuries," with park officials dispatching a helicopter from Anchorage to conduct the rescue. The aircraft, which can seat up to five passengers and a pilot, is privately owned, according to the Alaskan newspaper. As of July 7, the cause of the crash is unknown. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation, Alaska's News Source reported. The FAA and NTSB did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. Katmai National Park and Preserve is set along the northern Alaska Peninsula, most famously known for its fat bears and unique ecosystem. As one of the most remote national parks in the U.S., Katmai has no roads connecting it to the rest of Alaska, requiring travelers to take either a water taxi or float plane. The incident over the holiday weekend was the latest in a recent string of crashes involving small planes, many of which were fatal. In late June, a twin-engine Cessna 441 went down in the backyard of a home in Ohio, killing all six people onboard. Earlier in the month, six people died when a twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed offshore San Diego just minutes after takeoff. In North Carolina, a small aircraft, a Universal Stinson 108 plane, crashed in Farmington as the pilot tried to avoid a turtle on the runway just before the crash. The pilot and a passenger were killed while another passenger was seriously injured. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Small plane crashed in remote park in Alaska: National Park Service
USA Today
08-07-2025
- USA Today
4 injured after small float plane 'crash landed' at Katmai National Park
Authorities are investigating the crash of a small float plane in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve over the weekend that sent all four occupants, including the pilot, to the hospital. The small float plane, a Cessna 180J, "crash landed" at about 2:30 p.m. local time on July 5 near Brooks Camp within Katmai National Park, according to the National Park Service. Four occupants, including the pilot, were transported to an Anchorage area hospital with non-critical injuries, the park service said. Katmai National Park, a campground popular during the peak brown bear viewing season, is only accessible via small plane. National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska Chief Clint Johnson told Anchorage Daily News the agency was alerted of a crash "with four people on board reporting serious injuries," with park officials dispatching a helicopter from Anchorage to conduct the rescue. The aircraft, which can seat up to five passengers and a pilot, is privately owned, according to the Alaskan newspaper. As of July 7, the cause of the crash is unknown. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation, Alaska's News Source reported. The FAA and NTSB did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. Katmai National Park and Preserve is set along the northern Alaska Peninsula, most famously known for its fat bears and unique ecosystem. As one of the most remote national parks in the U.S., Katmai has no roads connecting it to the rest of Alaska, requiring travelers to take either a water taxi or float plane. String of small plane crashes The incident over the holiday weekend was the latest in a recent string of crashes involving small planes, many of which were fatal. In late June, a twin-engine Cessna 441 went down in the backyard of a home in Ohio, killing all six people onboard. Earlier in the month, six people died when a twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed offshore San Diego just minutes after takeoff. And in North Carolina, a small aircraft, a Universal Stinson 108 plane, crashed in Farmington as the pilot tried to avoid a turtle on the runway just before the crash. The pilot and a passenger were killed while another passenger was seriously injured.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NTSB: Helicopter in crash that killed 2 near Deadhorse received weather clearance
Jun. 5—The helicopter that crashed on the North Slope on Wednesday received a special weather clearance before taking off, federal officials say. The pilot and sole passenger were killed in the crash, which occurred 25 to 30 miles southwest of Deadhorse, according to a statement from the North Slope Borough. The Robinson R-66 helicopter was operated by Pollux Aviation. A company pilot was behind the controls, along with a passenger from a private company that had contracted the helicopter to conduct wildlife surveys, according to Clint Johnson, Alaska chief with the National Transportation Safety Board. The helicopter took off from Deadhorse around 10:30 or 10:40 a.m., Johnson said. Pollux lost contact with its tracking signal just before 11 a.m., he said. The company contacted the Rescue Coordination Center, which contacted the NTSB, triggering a search by the North Slope Borough Search and Rescue Department, officials said. The search and rescue team confirmed the fatalities. The pilot and passenger have not been officially identified. A North Slope Borough spokesperson on Thursday said there was no new information she could release. Johnson described the topography in the area of the crash as "snow-covered, flat featureless terrain." He said the pilot had received what's known as a Special Visual Flight Rules clearance. The clearance is commonly used, especially in rural Alaska, to land in low ceilings or visibility. Authorized by a national Federal Aviation Administration rule, it gives pilots the option of relying on what they can see, rather than cockpit instruments, to fly in and out of airports in deteriorating weather. The last contact that controllers had with the Pollux pilot Wednesday was when he flew out of the specific zone where the clearance applied, Johnson said. The NTSB will be investigating the weather conditions in the area of the crash, he said. "As far as visibility, other aircraft were operating. Our intent is to figure out in real time what was going on weather-wise," Johnson said. Investigators with the agency plan to conduct an initial on-scene investigation, and then transport the wreckage back to a secure area either in Deadhorse or at Prudhoe Bay, Johnson said.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
2 killed in helicopter crash on Alaska's remote North Slope, NTSB says
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter crash killed two people on Alaska's remote North Slope on Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board said. NTSB Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said the agency was notified of a missing helicopter Wednesday afternoon and found wreckage from a crash roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Deadhorse, news outlets reported. The safety board is investigating. It said in a social media post that the helicopter was a Robinson R-66 that went down near the Kuparuk oil field. No further information was immediately released. In 2023, a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state workers crashed in a shallow lake in the North Slope region.
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
2 killed in helicopter crash on Alaska's remote North Slope, NTSB says
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter crash killed two people on Alaska's remote North Slope on Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board said. NTSB Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said the agency was notified of a missing helicopter Wednesday afternoon and found wreckage from a crash roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Deadhorse, news outlets reported. The safety board is investigating. It said in a social media post that the helicopter was a Robinson R-66 that went down near the Kuparuk oil field. No further information was immediately released. In 2023, a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state workers crashed in a shallow lake in the North Slope region.
