Aircraft

An Iditarod Air Force plane crashed Tuesday afternoon during a takeoff from the race's checkpoint in the town of Iditarod, with Alaska State Troopers reporting that both the pilot and her passenger were uninjured. According to a Wednesday AST dispatch, Aniak-based Alaska Wildlife Troopers landing in Iditarod at about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday noticed a Cessna 185 on its back near a ski strip at the race checkpoint. Troopers learned that the IAF plane's pilot, 57-year-old Chugiak woman Diane Moroney, had left the scene of the crash before they arrived.

Possible military aircraft debris, along with material that may be bone fragments, has been discovered in the Knik Glacier area according to the Alaskan Command. Alaska Army National Guardsmen on board a UH-60 Blackhawk flying a routine training mission discovered the debris at about 1 p.m. Sunday, and conducted a brief aerial inspection before returning to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Capt. Tania Bryan, director of public affairs for the Alaskan Command, said the crash was believed to be that of a vintage aircraft and “not recent.” She says details about the crash are being withheld pending possible notifications of next of kin. A recovery effort for the wreckage is being considered by the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, which conducts search, recovery and laboratory efforts to locate lost service members.

The search for a small plane reported overdue to Takotna Monday reached a sad end Tuesday, with officials reporting that all three people on board -- a pilot, mother and daughter -- died in the crash. AST spokesperson Megan Peters identified the dead as pilot Ted Smith, 59, as well as mother and daughter Carolyn Sorvoja, 48, and Rosemarie Sorvoja, 10. All three were Eagle River residents, and their next of kin have been notified. "The aircraft was supposed to return to Anchorage to transport additional passengers but failed to arrive by (4 p.m. Monday)

Tonight's Assignment Alaska is the story of an old bird that helped build this state. The DC-3 revolutionized air travel starting in the 1930s, but after all those years only a few remain airworthy. Photojournalist Dan Carpenter and I found one still working hard out in the Mat-Su Valley. Perhaps you've seen her out at the Palmer airport, nose pointed skyward as if eager to escape: the matriarch of Alaska aviation. The work this DC-3, "Arctic Liner," does these days is hardly glamorous.

  The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a helicopter crash Tuesday  evening at Merrill Field in Anchorage.    According to NTSB Spokesperson Clint Johnson the accident happened around 6:15pm during a training flight.    Johnson said there were two people on board the R-22 helicopter operated by Alyeska Helicopters when it went down.    He says the aircraft rolled over on touchdown and received substantial damage but no one was injured.    The reason for the crash is not yet known - it is currently under investigation.

A Hageland Aviation flight landed safely in Point Hope Wednesday after one of its engines caught fire, according to the airline. The flight, which originated in Kotzebue, was approaching the Point Hope airport when the pilot noticed flames coming out of the right engine of his Piper PA-31 Navajo twin-propeller engine aircraft, said Hageland Aviation President Jim Hickerson. The pilot managed to extinguish the fire before the plane touched down, Hickerson said. The four passengers and pilot safely exited the aircraft without injury.

Staff Sgt. Stanley B. Reynolds, 37, was killed Aug. 14, 2007. Reynolds was on board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that crashed during a routine post-maintenance test flight near Anbar province, Iraq. Reynolds, a native of Rock, W.Va., was an aircraft power plant repairman who served with the 1 st Battalion, 52 nd Aviation Regiment, Task Force 49 based at Fort Wainwright.

Lt. Col. David Piffarerio made history when he touched down at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage Friday afternoon: He became the first Air Force pilot to log 1,000 hours flying in the cockpit of a sleek F-22 Raptor fighter jet. On Friday, he exited the cockpit via a black ladder pushed up to the side of the aircraft and got a traditional champagne water spray-down from his fellow squadron members and wife Jennifer. On today's training mission - also known as a “sortie” - he and another pilot took the jets to the Alaska Range for exercises.

by Ted Land Wednesday, May 19, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A group of Alaska pilots are banding together to take on the federal government. They say a new rule on what type of gas they can use would put many of them out of business. Many cargo airlines in the state use what's called AvGas, which is a fuel used by older, propeller-driven planes. The EPA says it's a problem because AvGas contains lead. On a busy Wednesday at Everts Air Cargo in Anchorage a World War II-era C-46 is headed for Aniak, fully loaded with goods.

by Christine Kim Wednesday, May 26, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, and the FBI conducted an exercise to keep Alaska's skies safe. The exercise is designed to practice intercept operations and handoff procedures between agencies during an air security mission. At the Elmendorf Air Force Base Flight Line, jets fly overhead before making a landing. On one end is the combat alert cell that holds aircraft ready to respond.

With just a few weeks left in this legislative session, lawmakers in Juneau continue to focus on oil tax reform and declining revenues, but some lawmakers see the need diversify our state, seeing huge potential in unmanned aircrafts or drones. “We need to be looking at other possibilities across the state,” said Rep. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer.  “It's expected that this industry will grow leaps and bounds in the next three years and it's important that Alaska get a piece of that pie.” Representative Hughes is the sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 6, a resolution that would create a task force of 15 legislators who, according to Hughes, will work together to address privacy concerns among other issues.  The resolution would also recognize the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

An Iditarod Air Force plane crashed Tuesday afternoon during a takeoff from the race's checkpoint in the town of Iditarod, with Alaska State Troopers reporting that both the pilot and her passenger were uninjured. According to a Wednesday AST dispatch, Aniak-based Alaska Wildlife Troopers landing in Iditarod at about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday noticed a Cessna 185 on its back near a ski strip at the race checkpoint. Troopers learned that the IAF plane's pilot, 57-year-old Chugiak woman Diane Moroney, had left the scene of the crash before they arrived.

The search for a small plane reported overdue to Takotna Monday reached a sad end Tuesday, with officials reporting that all three people on board -- a pilot, mother and daughter -- died in the crash. AST spokesperson Megan Peters identified the dead as pilot Ted Smith, 59, as well as mother and daughter Carolyn Sorvoja, 48, and Rosemarie Sorvoja, 10. All three were Eagle River residents, and their next of kin have been notified. "The aircraft was supposed to return to Anchorage to transport additional passengers but failed to arrive by (4 p.m. Monday)

  The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a helicopter crash Tuesday  evening at Merrill Field in Anchorage.    According to NTSB Spokesperson Clint Johnson the accident happened around 6:15pm during a training flight.    Johnson said there were two people on board the R-22 helicopter operated by Alyeska Helicopters when it went down.    He says the aircraft rolled over on touchdown and received substantial damage but no one was injured.    The reason for the crash is not yet known - it is currently under investigation.

The two people who were killed in a plane crash near Fairbanks Wednesday night have been identified by Alaska State Troopers. AST spokesperson Megan Peters says recovery efforts continue Thursday for the remains of 64-year-old pilot Stephen Knight and 60-year-old passenger Gillian Knight, both of Queensland, Australia. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Clint Johnson said a Piper Saratoga PA32R 301, was en route from Fort Yukon to Fairbanks shortly before 5 p.m. and disappeared from radar.

PenAir, the only airline with regularly scheduled service to the island village of Sand Point, recently banned more than a dozen members of the community from entering PenAir property in Sand Point, effectively banning the individuals from boarding the carrier's aircraft there, following a legal dispute. Daniel Seybert, PenAir CEO, posted a letter at the Sand Point airport, dated June 27, naming 15 people who are not allowed in the PenAir terminal or on airline property. Among those named is Tiffany Jackson, executive director of the Qagan Tayagungin Tribe of Sand Point . The only other way off the remote Aleutian chain community, population roughly 1,000, is via a charter air taxi or the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry, which sails every other week.

Anyone planning to step foot on one of Shell's offshore Arctic drilling vessels this summer must first pass an intense two day helicopter safety course. The class, which is taught at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska, using the Kenai Central High School swimming pool, tests students' endurance and nerves in a mock helicopter, which simulates a crash at sea. It is at times exhilarating and terrifying, but instructors say the skills taught there just might save lives.

Possible military aircraft debris, along with material that may be bone fragments, has been discovered in the Knik Glacier area according to the Alaskan Command. Alaska Army National Guardsmen on board a UH-60 Blackhawk flying a routine training mission discovered the debris at about 1 p.m. Sunday, and conducted a brief aerial inspection before returning to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Capt. Tania Bryan, director of public affairs for the Alaskan Command, said the crash was believed to be that of a vintage aircraft and “not recent.” She says details about the crash are being withheld pending possible notifications of next of kin. A recovery effort for the wreckage is being considered by the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, which conducts search, recovery and laboratory efforts to locate lost service members.

The last F-22 Raptor produced was welcomed by the U.S. Air Force Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Saturday, May 5. Lt. Col. Paul Moga accepted the "keys" to the fighter jet in Marietta, GA., where, back in December, it was the last one off the assembly line.  Moga then flew the Raptor cross-country from Marietta to J-BER in a non-stop, eight hour flight.  The jet, tail number 4195, will be flown as the flagship for the 525th Fighter...

Birds are returning to Alaska by the millions and a non-stop effort is now underway to keep them from getting close to aircraft. A team from USDA Wildlife Services will tell you it's a constant challenge -- trying to outsmart flocks of geese and seagulls. They're now working around-the-clock, patrolling the major airports in Alaska, harassing birds and other wildlife that might get in the way. “We've harassed probably 1,200 animals so far this year and 500 were last week,” said Quinton Fiscus, the USDA wildlife specialist responsible for Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, “they've gotten the picture that they're not supposed to be around here.” Pyrotechnics called “bangers” and “screamers” shot from a pistol appear to be the most effective deterrent.