Backcountry Pilot • Midair near Bethel, AK

Midair near Bethel, AK

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Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:04 pm

Midair near Bethel, AK

thoughts, prayers, or what ever is the particular form of good juju, for the families/friends/coworkers.

:(

http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/aviation/2016/08/31/2-planes-collide-in-midair-north-of-bethel-no-word-on-survivors/

i wonder if it was simply a failure of the big sky theory, or if there were more contributing factors...
dpadvo offline
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Wed Aug 31, 2016 5:51 pm

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

Any word on names of pilots yet? I've been trying all day to get ahold of a Hagelands buddy flying there. Now I'm spooked.

Gump
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Wed Aug 31, 2016 6:07 pm

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

No word yet, I know people there too.
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Wed Aug 31, 2016 6:53 pm

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

PM me if you hear anything Mike.
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 7:31 am

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

ADN article updated with names. Tragic accident.
gbflyer offline
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:31 am

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

gbflyer wrote:ADN article updated with names. Tragic accident.


http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/aviation ... survivors/
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 9:30 am

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

This is really sad. I'm also puzzled. I thought AD/S-B was widespread in AK. At least that's the impression I've received beginning a few years ago when the case for AD/S-B was argued as a national need based on the amazing experiences from the FAA's AK Region. Did I miss something, or misinterpret the AD/S-B sales job?
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 9:54 am

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

The Hageland's Caravan would be Capstone equipped, but I imagine not the Super Cub. So it's back to requiring Mark I eyeballs on a CAVU day.

The Capstone system works great, and was really needed there at Bethel. That airspace is insanely busy. Russian Mission on the other hand, bush busy, but nothing like Bethel.

Sad deal.

Gump


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Thu Sep 01, 2016 10:31 am

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

Very sad deal, one of the guys I work with lost his best friend in this crash. We were really worried he was on that flight, as he'd flown in yesterday morning as well. Prayers for the families and friends of all involved.
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 11:00 am

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

PapernScissors wrote:This is really sad. I'm also puzzled. I thought AD/S-B was widespread in AK. At least that's the impression I've received beginning a few years ago when the case for AD/S-B was argued as a national need based on the amazing experiences from the FAA's AK Region. Did I miss something, or misinterpret the AD/S-B sales job?


A lot of the commercial outfits have Capstone as Gump pointed out or have gone to AD/S-B out, but not everyone. I almost swapped paint this last Saturday with a carbon cub on floats that was coming up the wrong side of the inlet and not announcing it's position :shock:

As big as Alaska is, the traffic can get pretty thick during the summer. Mk 1 eyeballs still a necessity #-o
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 12:54 pm

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

slowhawk wrote:
PapernScissors wrote:This is really sad. I'm also puzzled. I thought AD/S-B was widespread in AK. At least that's the impression I've received beginning a few years ago when the case for AD/S-B was argued as a national need based on the amazing experiences from the FAA's AK Region. Did I miss something, or misinterpret the AD/S-B sales job?


A lot of the commercial outfits have Capstone as Gump pointed out or have gone to AD/S-B out, but not everyone. I almost swapped paint this last Saturday with a carbon cub on floats that was coming up the wrong side of the inlet and not announcing it's position :shock:

As big as Alaska is, the traffic can get pretty thick during the summer. Mk 1 eyeballs still a necessity #-o


Anyplace that has a confluence of airplanes coming to one spot creates the danger of "swapping paint". My homedrome (KGXY) is normally very quiet, but almost any nice Saturday morning, people from all over fly there for breakfast, and I suspect the Denver TRACON screens look like it's a bunch of bees coming home to the hive. As we all know, even the most watchful pilot can't see everything, so that "see and avoid" really doesn't work very well, as part of the "Big Sky Theory".

Very sad. My condolences to the families and friends of those who died.

Cary
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:44 pm

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

I've flown that valley between Russian Mission and Marshall many times, a very common route between the two villages when ceilings were high enough. On a CAVU day I can't imagine what happened.

The Caravan pilot, Harry Wrase, was a man I would call an exceptional aviator. Incredibly intelligent (a world-class chess player) and very talented pilot. He was a great instructor, check airman and lead pilot. I would have put any member of my family on his airplane and never have given it a second thought.

If the Cub had ADS-B it may have prevented this, but we can only speculate.

One thing I know is we lost five lives, and personally I lost someone I would call a friend, an asset to commercial aviation and aviators for some two decades.

Rest in peace.
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Thu Sep 01, 2016 7:34 pm

Re: Midair near Bethel, AK

Yup. Harry was a solid pilot and a good guy. He came to work for us back in 1999 or 2000 at an older version of Yute Air.

Gump


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