NTSB Issues Preliminary Report on Fatal Homer Plane Crash

July 17, 2012|By Chris Klint | Channel 2 News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report on a July 10 plane crash on a lake in Homer,which killed former state lawmaker Cheryll Heinze, says the pilot's estimates of wind speeds at the time were lower than those recorded at the local airport.

The Cessna 206 floatplane that crashed was carrying five Matanuska Electric Association employees including Heinze, the co-op’s director of human resources and public relations, on a fishing trip. MEA general manager Evan “Joe” Griffith, 71, was at the controls when the plane flipped after landing on Beluga Lake.

According to the NTSB report, the flight originated from Anchorage’s Sixmile Seaplane Base. Griffith, who spoke with Channel 2 about the crash Monday, told investigators that the Cessna had no mechanical issues prior to the accident. It had just landed on Beluga Lake after a dinner stop in Kenai when a gust of wind caused the plane to flip.

“The pilot reported that while landing to the south, just after touchdown, a gust of wind lifted the left wing, and the right wing struck the water,” NTSB officials wrote. “The airplane nosed over abruptly, and the cabin immediately filled with cold lake water.”

One of the three surviving passengers -- Tony Zellers, 49, Eddie Taunton, 52, and Tony Izzo, 51 -- told investigators that they escaped through the aft right-side cabin door. The door had been partially blocked by a lowered flap on the Cessna’s wing, but all four men were able to squeeze through its 10-inch to 12-inch opening.

“After all four exited the airplane, they realized that one passenger was still within the submerged wreckage, and they attempted to get back into the cabin area to search for her,” officials wrote.

Rescuers were subsequently able to reach Heinze, who was found unconscious and unresponsive with her seat belt still secured. The survivors were all treated for non-life-threatening hypothermia.

Griffith had estimated that winds on Beluga Lake were blowing at 10 knots, with peak gusts from 12 to 14 knots, but the Homer Airport reported winds 13 minutes before the crash at 14 knots with gusts up to 25 knots.

“At the time of the accident, a pilot-rated witness standing on the southeastern shoreline of Beluga Lake reported strong and gusty wind conditions, out of the northeast, estimated at 20 to 25 knots,” officials wrote.

Heinze was an Anchorage member of the state House from 2003 to 2004. She leaves behind husband Harold Heinze, a former head of the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority who recently joined MEA.

Two celebrations of Heinze’s life were scheduled for this week, with one taking place in Anchorage Monday night. A Mat-Su Valley event, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Lazy Mountain Bible Church at 16005 E. Shawn Dr. near Palmer, will be open to the public.

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