Squawk_5543

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Two couples on a side-trip from an Alaska cruise were killed when their sightseeing plane crashed in the mountains of Misty Fjords National Monument, state police said Wednesday.
Coast Guard helicopter crews at the heavily forested site were told by searchers late Tuesday that there were no survivors, Coast Guard Lt. j.g. George Adams said.
The single-engine floatplane, a de Havilland Beaver, had left Ketchikan shortly before 1:30 p.m. for a tour over Misty Fiords.
Alaska State Police said early Wednesday that pilot Joseph H. Campbell, 56, of Ketchikan, was flying the plane with cruise passengers William F. Eddy and Jeanne J. Eddy, both 59 and from Jacksonville, Fla.; and Paul J. McManus, 60, and Marianne M. McManus, 56, of Leicester, Mass.
A dispatcher for Taquan Air, the Ketchikan-based flight operator, reported the plane missing after trying to contact the pilot for 20 minutes without success, said Len Laurance, a Taquan spokesman.
Searchers spotted the wreckage in the area where an aircraft distress signal had been picked up, near the south arm of Rudyerd Bay about 35 miles northeast of Ketchikan. Early reports put the plane at an elevation of 2,400 feet, but Adams said the wing portion was located higher than the fuselage, indicating that the aircraft slid down after impact.


The four passengers had been traveling on the Sun Princess, a Princess Cruise Lines ship that was on the second day of a seven-day trip from Seattle. The vessel left Ketchikan two hours after its scheduled departure of 4:30 p.m.
The cruise ship company, a division of Carnival Corp., has cut off Taquan Air tours at this time, Princess spokeswoman Julie Benson said in a prepared statement. Princess, based in Santa Clarita, Calif., also notified the families of the passengers.

FL600

Terrible news.

Cubdriver

You do not mean by "know his work" that you know anything about his being less than competent do you? You say "not surprising" which suggests you saw him goofing things up or displaying poor skills. I would recommend being careful making statements like this because lawsuits and subpoenas can follow if the wrong person happens to hear it.

If it is true, then you are on solid ground for coming forth with the truth, but be careful lest you get drafted for an unpaid part-time job as a witness. I was involved in some aviation crash lawsuits as an expert witness and I was warned one should never venture forth any such information unless eager to go to court.

Cubdriver

In that case maybe the public will benefit. Small Part 135 operators are tempted cut corners to survive sometimes. Crashes like this one can serve to reform the industry.

rickair7777

Hopefully. It's sad that many of us know someone who qualifies for the "I can see it coming" label. I know folks who said the same thing about the CA of the PNCL glider.

Canyonair

It took over a year, but the NTSB has released the final report of the July 24, 2007 Taquan Air accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. Aside from finding that the pilot flew the VFR flight into IFR conditions, a more troubling factor came out that gives our profession a "Black Eye".

If you read the entire accident report you will find that the pilot (Joseph H. Campbell) was previously suicidal and also taking anti-depressant medication at the time of the accident which would NOT allow him to be legal to fly any aircraft.

The report also states that he lied on the medical certificate application concerning his past and current medical and mental condition so he could obtain the required certificate to hold his pilot position with Taquan.

The FAA's guide for Aviation Medical Examiners states, in part: "The use of a psychotropic drug is considered disqualifying. This includes all sedatives, tranquilizers, antipsychotic drugs, antidepressant drugs, analeptics, anxiolytics, and hallucinogens."

He should have never been flying that aircraft for Taquan Air and the worst part is he knew it!

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?...07FA068&akey=1

JayDee

Now see, an air accident is bad enough... But come on! Flying when you know you arent legal is well, just plain wrong.

Fishfreighter

I wonder if this was the ELT we heard on the 24th between KTN and SIT. Hmmm....