Investigation into fatal Alaska plane crash

August 10, 2012 Last Thursday, an Air Excursions pilot, a 56-year-old man from Chelan, Washington, was killed during a flight from Juneau to Gustavus during adverse weather conditions. His remains and the wreckage were found that afternoon on the hillside of Howard Bay near Point Howard, about 23 miles from Juneau. Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are conducting parallel investigations, according to the Juneau Empire. The NTSB will publish an online preliminary report today, to be followed by periodic reports as they become available. But the final report will not be complete for nine months to a year, says the NTSB air safety investigator assigned to the case. Under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the FAA is a regulatory agency. It’s investigating the crash to ensure there were no regulatory issues, especially since this was a commercial aircraft for Air Excursions. Air Excursions has offices in Juneau and offers flight-seeing tours of Southeast Alaska as well as scheduled service from Juneau to Gustavus, Hoonah, Haines, Skagway and Kake. Answering to the U.S. Congress, the NTSB is an independent government agency. It investigates every civil aviation accident in the U.S. and also has the authority to cite the FAA for regulatory issues. The aviation accident lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy offer our condolences to the family and friends of the man who died in this commercial aviation accident.

Related Posts