Alaskan bush pilot dies in Piper PA-18 crash - was husband of Alaska's lone representative in Congress

y_p_w

y_p_w

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

Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., former regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Alaska, died early Wednesday after the Tuesday evening crash of a plane he was piloting in Western Alaska.
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Sounds like he was retired after several jobs in the federal government, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, along with time on the Bethel city council. Apparently had a commercial pilots license since 2004, and this was part of a trip where he dropped off several hunters in a remote area.

I have heard of prominent people in small plane accidents in Alaska over the years. Senator Ted Stevens. Representative Nick Begich. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs (father of Cokie Roberts). I guess it wasn't an accident, but Mary Peltola's predecessor died onboard an Alaska Airlines flight.
 
I've seen that a lot of Super Cubs are modified for bush flying with oversized tires, but the tail wheel is generally kept the same. I would have thought that the tail wheel tire might need to be bigger to deal with the stress of tough terrain.

This also seems to be really small for a hunting trip. Something about short range, a small fuel tank, and only room for the pilot, one passenger, and about 350 lbs of gear.
 
sad for everyone involved. Light aircraft have a risk profile that is largely intolerant of any error or slightly unfavorable conditions. I don’t know what happened here. But I do know it keeps happening. Even to the worlds best pilots.
 
Cujet said:
sad for everyone involved. Light aircraft have a risk profile that is largely intolerant of any error or slightly unfavorable conditions. I don’t know what happened here. But I do know it keeps happening. Even to the worlds best pilots.
Click to expand...

Bush flying would seem to include a plethora of unfavorable conditions. Poor quality runways (including impromptu runways), bad weather, older aircraft, etc.
 
Cujet said:
sad for everyone involved. Light aircraft have a risk profile that is largely intolerant of any error or slightly unfavorable conditions. I don’t know what happened here. But I do know it keeps happening. Even to the worlds best pilots.
Click to expand...
Having flown the Alaska bush for some years, you are mostly quite correct. The mitigating factor that has saved many people, including me, is the fact these light bush aircraft fly very slowly, and usually there is time to correct dumb errors. An aircraft such as a Bonanza is a whole different animal.
 
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