House Rep husband dies in Alaska crash

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane crashed shortly after takeoff near St. Mary's, Alaska, around 8:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Only Peltola's husband, who was the pilot, was on board.
 
Buzzy was a hell of a good guy. I’m in shock. RIP.
 
Wondering the same. I guess that his wife is a politician?

Never been there, but it seems pretty clear that flying in Alaska always requires your A game and rock solid equipment.
 
donjohnston said:
So what was "shocking" about the crash?
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That he was a friend and I am shocked that he is gone. Nothing more.

Buzzy flew for a hunting outfit during Moose season, which I am almost certain is what he was doing yesterday. He was a very conscientious pilot and didn’t push weather or anything like that. I am wondering if it wasn’t some sort of mechanical issue on takeoff.

The circumstances are remarkably similar to Jim Twetos accident.
 
DavidWhite said:
That he was a friend and I am shocked that he is gone. Nothing more.

Buzzy flew for a hunting outfit during Moose season, which I am almost certain is what he was doing yesterday. He was a very conscientious pilot and didn’t push weather or anything like that. I am wondering if it wasn’t some sort of mechanical issue on takeoff.

The circumstances are remarkably similar to Jim Twetos accident.
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I think he was quoting the article. “Shocking” was all it really said. No real details.

Sorry for your loss. I’m guessing mechanical as well given the end of runway location.
 
Most of those aren’t really “runways” they’re more just a few hundred feet of space without too much brush thats straight(ish) on the top of a hill.
 
and the FAA statement is even more vague than I realized. Shortly after takeoff could be five minutes after takeoff. Guess we’ll see when the details start rolling in.
 
It was still light out, sunset is about 9:22 pm, weather doesn't seem that unusual. Russian Mission and Mountain Village reported temps in the mid-40s, very light winds and cloudy, no precip. Destination at St. Mary's weather, 64 miles way was:
Sep 12, 8:35 pm433987 humidity37NNW1010.00 visOVC027 29.3829.71

Alaska bush flying supporting hunters, that's business as usual and he was certainly experienced. Crash was during takeoff, two hunters provided assistance. Mountainous terrain. Alaska press which is being updated as information comes in:

www.adn.com

Rep. Mary Peltola’s husband dies after plane crash in Southwest Alaska

Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., former state regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, died after the Tuesday evening crash of a plane he was piloting in Western Alaska northeast of St. Mary’s.
www.adn.com www.adn.com
 
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DavidWhite said:
That he was a friend and I am shocked that he is gone. Nothing more.

Buzzy flew for a hunting outfit during Moose season, which I am almost certain is what he was doing yesterday. He was a very conscientious pilot and didn’t push weather or anything like that. I am wondering if it wasn’t some sort of mechanical issue on takeoff.

The circumstances are remarkably similar to Jim Twetos accident.
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Sorry for your loss.

My question was about the headline of the article. It implies that this was different or unique from most plane crashes.
 

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Mary is our lone US Congressperson. She’s got several children. Most Alaskans love her without political motivation. This accident will be discussed by people that otherwise don’t care about aviation. That this public figure lost her husband is shocking.
 
John Spartan said:
Never been there, but it seems pretty clear that flying in Alaska always requires your A game and rock solid equipment.
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Flying in Alaska is not all that dangerous, but it can be terribly unforgiving to those that do not pay attention to their surroundings.

Almost everyone I knew that perished while flying in Alaska did so because they pushed it a little too much.

I will admit there were a few times luck had more to do with surviving more than my skill.
 
Zeldman said:
Flying in Alaska is not all that dangerous, but it can be terribly unforgiving to those that do not pay attention to their surroundings.

Almost everyone I knew that perished while flying in Alaska did so because they pushed it a little too much.

I will admit there were a few times luck had more to do with surviving more than my skill.
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I would submit that crashing in Alaska very much is all that dangerous. Terrain. Weather. Wildlife. Infrastructure. Many factors against you if you even survive the crash. It certainly is more dangerous than the urban areas I fly so I’m sticking with my “A game and good hardware” statement on this one. I suppose there is less traffic to contend with though. That’s probably nice.
 
John Spartan said:
I would submit that crashing in Alaska very much is all that dangerous.
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Well yes, crashing anywhere is dangerous. Not crashing is a good idea in any type of flying. But flying Alaska is no more dangerous than flying anywhere else in the US as long as a person pays attention to surroundings and weather. And by the way, flying a single engine over very populated areas in the lower 48 makes me nervous...
 
The ADN article linked above provided a brief CV of the man. He must have touched many lives in the state.

RIP

Peltola, 57, was the former regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Alaska, serving in that position from 2018 to 2022. He previously spent 34 years working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska. Among other roles, he served as vice mayor and council member for the city of Bethel between 2010 and 2012 and sat on various Alaska Native village corporation boards.
 
DavidWhite said:
Most of those aren’t really “runways” they’re more just a few hundred feet of space without too much brush thats straight(ish) on the top of a hill.
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St Mary's is gravel but it's 6k' long. Lynden Hercs and Ravn Dash 8s land there all the time.

Now if it's like Tweto's crash where the articles kept saying it was "just after takeoff near Unalakleet" then it could have been 60 miles from St Mary's, and yes, could have been an improvised location.
 
St Mary's is gravel but it's 6k' long. Lynden Hercs and Ravn Dash 8s land there all the time.
aftCG said:
Now if it's like Tweto's crash where the articles kept saying it was "just after takeoff near Unalakleet" then it could have been 60 miles from St Mary's, and yes, could have been an improvised location.
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It was 60 miles from St Marys in an improvised location.
 
MAYBE over gross by Cub paperwork standards, but few in AK go strictly by that. His load was not a big deal and we all fly antlers on the struts, so also not a big deal. Perhaps he was over confident about his plane’s performance, or maybe it was simply bad luck with timing the wind. It makes no difference in the end. He goes where many have gone before him. RIP.
 
Add to that gusty winds on the departure end of the strip. Sounds as if you were flying with a 370 pound passenger in the rear seat. The NPR article was far better than the Seattle Times piece, as befits an audience up there that includes many more pilots. Sad that he survived but passed away after a couple of hours.
 
skyking3286 said:
Sad that he survived but passed away after a couple of hours.
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That's the part that struck me the most. Makes one realize the sheer luxury of living within a trauma network area of coverage, as the CONUS is writ large. People like @Velocity173 clutching people from their light going out, and making it look easy on the daily.

To wit, it is probable the deceased could have survived the trauma had it not been incurred so remotely. We had similar concerns living in the northern Mexican desert US border, of course not to the same degree of concern, but it always weighed heavy on my mind. Had coworkers needing air transfers to SAT in my time there, not something I ever take for granted anymore, and it also informs my domicile choices even as a barely middle age man.
 
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The Mister and I had a long conversation about this over lunch today... his working hypothesis is that the drag from the antlers on one side might have made the plane very unstable.
(I've never strapped antlers to anything, so I have no personal experience here.)
In any case, that photograph is sobering.
RIP.
 
kath said:
[Tries to find a way of saying "I got that reference, and that's hilarious!" while still respecting the somber tone of this thread.]
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Took me this post to get it myself. I think the origal poster has been sacked.
 
A friend of mine built and equipped his cabin carrying everything there in and on his 180.
 

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