http://www.adn.com/2010/08/01/1391347/n ... ifies.html

Prayers to all...

One of our own on here flies a 123 up in that area, I hope he wasn't on the flight....my prayers out to the families of those on board.

No, not "on Denali', rather "in Denali". Roughly 65 miles from the mountain itself, very close to the park headquarters.

Wild Bill and his "Movie Star" Airplane........ not sure what happen but Very Sad Day, he was one neat guy.

Prayers to Family and Friends

Three killed in second Alaska air crash in a week


WASHINGTON (AFP) - Three people are dead after a twin-engine cargo plane crashed Sunday in Denali National Park in the US state of Alaska, the National Parks Service said.
It was the second fatal crash involving a transport plane in Alaska in less than a week.

In a statement, the parks service said the aircraft crashed into the south-facing slope of Mount Healy, within a mile (1.6 kilometers) of the park headquarters, at approximately 3:00 pm local time (2300 GMT).

"There were three people reported to be on board. It appears as if there were no survivors," the statement said. No names were released, pending notification of next of kin.

The aircraft was identified as a Fairchild C-123 registered to All West Freight company in Delta Junction, Alaska.
The crash ignited a wildfire, which has now been contained.
On Wednesday, a US military C-17 Globemaster cargo plane crashed during a training mission at the Elmendorf base near Alaska's biggest city Anchorage, killing all four crew members aboard.
Witnesses to Sunday's crash reported seeing a plume of smoke near the Denali Park airstrip.

"It looked like he was flying kind of low, and he banked hard to the left and went straight down we saw the fire ball come up from the back side of the mountains," Brent Stache, a visitor from Wisconsin told KTVA-CBS 11 News.

"If you can imagine a big jet crashing and all the airplane fuel starting on fire and going straight up in the air."
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were notified, and federal investigators were expected at the scene on Monday.

Tadpole wrote:One of our own on here flies a 123 up in that area, I hope he wasn't on the flight....my prayers out to the families of those on board.

I'm Ok.........I wasn't on board, but my friends were.

Hafast wrote:

Tadpole wrote:One of our own on here flies a 123 up in that area, I hope he wasn't on the flight....my prayers out to the families of those on board.

I'm Ok.........I wasn't on board, but my friends were.

I heard through the grape vine you weren't on it, glad to hear, sorry to hear about Bill and the others though

Hafast..... I heard it was WB, and JE but who was P ?


PM me if need be..........

P was right hand man to JE. God bless them all.

George,

I know now...... Just sucks

Pilot Bill Michel of Delta Junction, John Eshleman of Wasilla and Paul Quartly of Wasilla were killed Sunday afternoon when a Fairchild C-123 cargo plane registered to Michel's company, All West Freight, Inc., crashed near Denali National Park headquarters Sunday.

from Channel 2 News tonight..........

They will be greatly missed.

Wild Bill was a great guy, every time I ran into him at the store or when out ogling his aircraft while at Wolf Lake. Heck, he came out of the hangar one sunny day as we were taking a break and admiring his aircraft (we were fed up with trying to get a wheel back on a 180 after changing the brakes). He not only told us a bit about his planes, but also lent us a gigantic wrench wrench with a grin, announcing it was the perfect thing for recalcitrant axle nuts. It was, too.

He'll be sorely missed.

Bill's service is Saturday in Delta



"Wild Bill" Michel died Aug. 1, 2010, at the age of 61, in an airplane crash at Denali Park.

There will be a celebration of his life at 4 p.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Delta Junction.

He born May 24, 1949, and raised in upstate New York before coming to Alaska in the early '70s at the age of 24.

Wild Bill started doing dirt work, building roads in the Sterling area, but his passion was flying. He piloted his first plane at the age of 15. He flew thousands of hours throughout Alaska, delivering supplies and building airfields in the most remote areas of the state.

He was a man who would do anything for anyone and proved it many times. Wild Bill lived and died doing what he loved best.

He is survived by his wife, Barbie of Delta Junction; stepson, Jamie Foster of Arkansas; stepdaughter, Jodie Ward of Tennessee; stepson, Jesse "Moe" Sheldon of Wasilla; sisters, Rita Marie Dreimiller of New York, Pat Powers of New York and Chris Hachten of New York; brothers, Ed Michel of Florida and Dan Michel of Sterling; seven stepgrandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He will be missed by all.



Published in adn.com from August 4 to August 5, 2010

" I just heard it on very good authority that they were aligned with the park road until the last second when a bus rounded a corner and came into their path. Bus driver thought that a collision was imminent and that they were all goners. Sounds like the plane banked to avoid the oncoming bus and save 40+ lives."

I received this info from someone in area who would rather not be named........ if true it would explain a few things.

Hope it brings some comfort to both friends and family.


A celebration of life for Bill, John and Paul at 2 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Wolf Lake Airport in Wasilla.

The witness report summary from NTSB, as reported by adn. Not sure what to make of any of this.

http://www.adn.com/2010/09/02/1437286/n ... ounts.html

I flew up from Whitehorse to Delta Junction (All West- AK77) to visit with Bill's widow, "Barbie"! It was nice to catch up with her and go for dinner. The 123 sitting outside looks like its going to an Outfit in Ontario, Canada. The Pawnee, 206 and 150 have all sold....Barbie's 67' bug isnt going anywhere but in her driveway...what a hot car that is! Anyhow, it was a sad feeling to hang out in Wild Bill's hangar and thinking about all the good years and stories that took shape in it...truly a big part of Alaska Aviation history!

We are trying to put on a slide show about Bill's life for the Atlin Flyin (which will then be given to Barbie)... I am asking anyone and everyone here if you have either a photo, clip or story about "Wild Bill" to please e-mail it to me directly ([email protected]). Please take the 2 or 5 or more minutes to email me even if it is very short stories...he has affected many people's lives in many ways, perhaps you never met him but heard stories about him, that's fine too...and whether you knew him for many years or met him for one minute, please share that story. Photos and clips would be fantastic addition.

Thank you all for your time!

Cheers, BCT

Backcountry Tundra wrote:...The Pawnee, 206 and 150 have all sold....

Looks like a Cessna Agwagon to me.

hotrod150 wrote:

Backcountry Tundra wrote:...The Pawnee, 206 and 150 have all sold....

Looks like a Cessna Agwagon to me.

And it has a hot rod 540 in it also.

Yep it is an Agwagon...I'm just used to call them Pawnees!

Hello all...just wanting to keep bugging you in hope to gather few more short (or long) stories about Wild Bill. I did receive photos, video and stories from Wagonwrench so I thought I'd post. Surely there are more people out there with stories... fire them off to me please! Thank you kindly

I gave Barbie all of the pictures and videos that I had a few months after they crashed, it was several gigabytes.