A plane operated by U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’s husband carried about 500 pounds worth of moose flesh and antlers prior to the collision close to St. Mary’s earlier this month. The crash caused his death, police say.
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report regarding the September. 12 crash that claimed the life of 57-year old Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr. The report, which was compiled following an NTSB team travelled across the country from Washington, D.C. to Alaska sheds insight into the fatal crash and the death of Peltola while he waited for to fly in an emergency rescue mission overnight.
The report states that Peltola was flying the Piper PA-18 150 Super Cub in the middle of two trips on that evening to deliver moose marrow towards Holy Cross. Five hunters had camped on the landing strip, which is just 80 miles north near Holy Cross, and started loading the plane around 7:40 p.m. on September. 12 for another load.
“During the following half hour, both the pilot as well as hunters loaded the aircraft with the carcasses,” investigators wrote. “One of the hunters stated that the plane held 50 to 70 pounds of meat than it did during earlier flights. The meat was strapped to the seat of the rear passengers by using both the seatbelt and chord, and then put into the aircraft’s stomach pod that didn’t include tie-down options. The pilot then sewed the antlers onto the right wing strung; the antlers then were then placed in a cup and parallel to the direction of flight.”
Peltola has also informed another hunter that he was expecting to be in reserve fuel levels by the time it was time to reach Holy Cross. They also mentioned that there were intermittent gusts of wind moving across the airport.
“Members in the group had reported to the airman that it was blowing more strongly towards the exit at the end of the runway,” investigators reported.
When Peltola took off around 8:45 p.m. Then, one of the hunters took the launch on the runway. The investigators discovered that the plane was swaying about 20 degrees before leveling upon takeoff, but there was the plane not making any unusual noises or smoke on the footage.
“The researchers observed it was a bit longer than the previous one and that the aircraft seemed to be working harder by the pilot than it was during the previous flight” investigators noted. “They said that when the aircraft landed at the top of the runway the plane slowed and slid sharply to the left but instead of rising as it had before, the aircraft was able to fly behind the ridgeline, and then disappeared from view.”
The hunters initially thought the Super Cub’s flight was successful, according to the investigators. But when the plane failed to return to the ridgeline they went up it and discovered the wreckage site. One of them sounded an SOS using the InReach satellite communication device and then retrieved Peltola from the wrecked plane.
“Once the pilot was taken away from the scene, they wrapped him in blankets and set an upwind heater so that he could stay cozy,” the investigators reported. “The pilot was speaking and didn’t appear to be suffering however, he began to become less responsive for the following two hours, and after that the pilot was no longer able to maintain an electric pulse.”
The Alaska Air National Guard sent an emergency helicopter and helicopter to the site of the crash from Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage. The Guard’s officials have confirmed that that the aircraft needed to refill its tanks in McGrath and the helicopter arriving at the crash site around 1:50 a.m. on Sept. 13.
The investigators who visited the site of the crash which included representatives from the aircraft manufacturer Piper as well as the enginemaker Lycoming discovered no first indication of engine problems. The propeller was separated in the crash, and fractures in the ground indicating the points of impact of the right wing tip and the its main landing gear.
“The cargo of the aircraft was weighed at the crash location, and revealed a cargo around 520 lbs that was mostly comprised of moose carcass and a set containing antlers of a moose,” investigators wrote. “About 150 pounds of muscle was discovered in the forward portion inside the stomach pod, the remaining pieces were secured to the back cabin seating area. Antlers of the antlers were clipped to side facing the inboard of the right-hand strut.”
Clint Johnson, the NTSB’s Alaska chief, said Thursday morning that no conclusion are yet reached regarding the underlying cause of this plane’s demise. Investigators are studying the Super Cub’s load according to Johnson, but are still trying to determine the weight of all the items on board and what the aircraft was designed with a heavier capacity than the standard Super Cub’s 820 lbs.
“Right right now, we’re searching and trying to locate the maintenance records for this plane. We’re conducting a network with our family members,” he said. “So we don’t be able to tell if there was loading issues or not.”
NTSB meteorologists are planning to create models of conditions on the runway, Johnson said, to assess the strength of winds that will blow during the plane’s takeoff. Investigators are also awaiting the results from an autopsy carried out on Peltola.
The next step as per Johnson will be a closer inspection of the plane that was destroyed and the fact that it has departed from the airstrip.
“The wreckage has been removed and returned in Anchorage,” Johnson said. “And we’ll be revisiting the wreckage once more, in order to begin the analysis part that will be conducted.”
Peltola, a family man and ex- Alaska regional director of the national Bureau of Indian Affairs, quit the post to help his wife’s successful campaign for Congress. Funeral services for the deceased took place in Bethel on the 18th of September. 18 with hundreds of Alaskans attending.
This is a story in the process of being developed. Keep an eye out for updates.
