alaskaflyer
Final Approach
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2006
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- 7,544
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- Smith Valley, Nevada
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Alaskaflyer
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Plane found near Nome; all aboard safe[/SIZE][/FONT]
Also, the Air National Guard was enroute but was canceled when found.
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]
Plane found near Nome; all aboard safe[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1]By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
(02/19/09 21:08:30) [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1]A commuter flight from Brevig Mission to Nome went down Thursday evening, spurring an extensive air and ground search that turned up the wreckage hours later and all those aboard alive, according to Alaska State Troopers. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] The downed airplane, Frontier Flying Service flight 8218, was located northeast of Nome after it crashed with five passengers and a pilot on board for reasons not immediately known, said Jim Hajdukovich, Frontier president.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] One person suffered minor injuries, he said.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] Families of the crew and passengers held their breath as they waited for word on the search, which was completed inside of three hours. "It was a real nervous time there for a while, but he put the plane down and must have put it down right, because only one bump on the head was reported," said Scott Mayfield, who identified himself as the son-in-law of the pilot. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] The people were being transported to Nome on a tracked vehicle for medical evaluation on Thursday night, Hajdukovich said. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] The pilot of the Piper PA-31-350 last made radio contact with the tower at about 6:30 p.m., but subsequently lost contact and failed to arrive in Nome at the flight's scheduled time, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] It apparently went down more than seven miles northeast of Nome, near a spot called Newton Peak, Hajdukovich said.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] The aircraft deployed an emergency locator beacon, which searchers picked up on, said NTSB investigator Clint Johnson, who planned to interview the pilot and begin an investigation into the crash today.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] A state trooper, along with personnel from the Nome Fire Department and Nome Search and Rescue conducted what Peters characterized as "an extensive ground search" for the plane using snowmachines. Evergreen also launched a helicopter to assist in locating the flight, Peters said. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-1] Both Frontier Flying and troopers said they had no indication what might have caused the plane to go down or how the pilot managed to guide it in without additional injuries. [/SIZE][/FONT]
Also, the Air National Guard was enroute but was canceled when found.
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