RELATED: Commercial aviation is essential to life in Alaska. And that’s up from 20% in the 2000s and 15% in the 1990s. A review of NTSB data showed that the NTSB found that the FAA didn’t take adequate action on nearly 40% of the recommendations it closed in the past decade. ZS: The FAA doesn’t always move forward on NTSB recommendations and, in recent years, the agencies have disagreed more. But the NTSB also found that the now defunct operator’s company culture endorsed flying into hazardous weather.ĬG: Okay, so is the FAA being responsive to these NTSB recommendations though? In that accident the NTSB determined the probable cause was the pilot flew into deteriorating weather and ended up flying into the side of a mountain. In 2017, it asked the world’s largest cruise industry trade association to encourage air tour operators that they work with to review the circumstances of a 2015 fatal Ketchikan crash. But the NTSB doesn’t just issue recommendations to the FAA. It also asked the FAA to meet with Ketchikan’s air tour operators annually to review operational hazards and collaborate on ways to manage these risks. Back in 2017, the NTSB asked the FAA to create more conservative rules for the Ketchikan air tour industry. Over the years there also have been safety recommendations from the NTSB, specifically related to sightseeing accidents. It’s even launched a new program called the Alaska Aviation Safety Initiative to look at how the agency is providing resources to the state, their effectiveness and what more can be done. The FAA says it’s made the issue a top priority.
ZS: Following a roundtable meeting in 2019, focused on improving small plane aviation, the NTSB issued a safety recommendation asking the Federal Aviation Administration to review and prioritize Alaska’s aviation safety needs and ensure it’s making progress on implementing safety enhancements. I feel that this accident shows that there’s still a lot of work to be done. Robert Sumwalt: It’s very, very distressing to see yet another sightseeing accident occur - very distressing. Robert Sumwalt is the recently retired chairman of the NTSB, here are his thoughts on the August 5 accident. ZS: The NTSB has been concerned about small plane commercial aviation in Alaska for a while. These accidents were all in the busy summer months and sometimes there also is poor weather.ĬG: So this had already been a major concern of the NTSB, right? What has been done or what’s being done to address these crashes? The biggest similarities we see in fatal accidents around Ketchikan in recent years is that they were sightseeing flights carrying passengers from cruise ships. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, but it’s unlikely we’ll see their final report for another year or two. ZS: At this point, it’s way too early to know what caused the August 5 crash. RELATED: Fatal crash near Ketchikan renews concerns about safety of Alaska aviationĬG: Do we know why these types of flights have been crashing?
ZS: Heuer describes the August 5 accident as eerie because it’s around the same time and place as the crash that killed his sisters and their husbands. I’m sure people are out there, they probably see some changes. Heuer and his family recently marked the 14th anniversary of their family tragedy.īill Heuer: A lot of time has gone by. Bill Heuer lost both his sisters and their husbands in 2007 when their sightseeing plane crashed into the mountains near Ketchikan, and they were visiting Alaska on a cruise. And in each of these accidents, some of the people who died were cruise ship passengers. Zoë Sobel: As you’ve mentioned, since 2015, there have been three fatal accidents that have killed 21 people. KUCB and ProPublica reporter Zoë Sobel joined Alaska Public Media’s Casey Grove to talk about the issue.Ĭasey Grove: A number of these recent fatal crashes have involved sightseeing tours carrying cruise ship passengers. The crash has renewed concerns about the number of fatal, small commercial aircraft accidents in Alaska, which, according to an investigation by member station KUCB and ProPublica, is growing relative to the rest of the country.
That’s after six - including five out-of-state cruise ship passengers - died in a sightseeing crash in Misty Fjords National Monument on Aug.
(Wikimedia Commons)Īt least 21 people have lost their lives in plane crashes in the Ketchikan area since 2015. With its majestic views and status as a National Monument, float planes tours of Misty Fjords are a popular choice for visitors who come to Ketchikan on cruises, tours, and as independent travelers.
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