Five people, including a Czech billionaire, were killed in an Airbus helicopter crash while heli-skiing in Alaska.
Deadly Airbus Helicopter Crash In Alaska
The Airbus AS350 B3 crashed near a glacier during a ski trip on Saturday. Petr Kellner, who made billions helping to privatize the Czech Republic after the fall of communism, was among five onboard. All guests were staying at the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge in Judd Lake, Alaska. The pilot and guide from the lodge were also killed.
Alaska State Troopers confirmed the crash and that there were no survivors, but have not provided a specific reason for the crash yet. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched a team to investigate.
Heli-skiing is how the rich avoid waiting in line. A helicopter simply replaces the ski lift, which also aids in accessing remote terrain.
Kellner, 56, was not only a philanthropist, but heavily involved in the affairs of his company. His death has been mourned publicly by the Czech President and Prime Minister.
CONCLUSION
While I never think twice about boarding an airplane, I do wonder about helicopters. It seems we read about these type of stories fairly often and that helicopter travel in Alaska is particularly fraught with danger.
While the thought of heli-skiing to remote hills in order to ski sounds like a lot of fun, I would certainly think twice about boarding a helicopter on a blustery day in Alaska. I’ve only been on a helicopter once…it later crashed into the East River and there was no Sullenberger to save the day.
My condolences to the families of the deceased.
image: Laurent Quérité / Flickr
We use them when kayaking remote rivers on the South Island of New Zealand. With no road access they fly us miles upstream with boats in a net beneath. It’s sketchy as hell, even more so than the river lol. Most are flown by local farmers who later land them in front of bars, have a few, and then fly home. We joke that the helicopter is the national bird of New Zealand. As one kiwi pilot we use often said to me as we took off, “don’t stress mate, just a thousand moving parts and if one goes bad it’ll be over quick”. I did not find it funny and strapped my river helmet on tighter. Hate the things.
There was 1 survivor.
You could not pay me to go on a helicopter, let alone a private company in Alaska…
RIP.
@S: +1. Same goes for Grand Canyon and Hawaii. No way in hell I would put my family in one of those.
He also owns Saba Rock and Nail Bay resort on Virgin Gorda. He poured tons of money into both after the hurricanes and they look beautiful (Saba isn’t open yet) During our last trip, we visited Nail Bay to dine several times.
I have been in many helicopters which were operated by legit commercial companies (not tour operators) and felt perfectly safe. However, I refuse to fly with a friend who has a helicopter and a plane. I want my pilots to be professionals.
The real danger of heli-skiing is not the helicopter but rather the natural hazards of avalanches, cliffs,
crevasses, etc. Canadian Mountain Holidays has been operating since 1965 and to this day I do not believe has had a helicopter crash with over 10 million trips completed. Had the pleasure of skiing out of their Bobbie Burns camp once and if the weather was in the least bit “iffy” we did not fly. Some years in British Columbia as many people die in hot tubs as heli-skiing!
The Anchorage Daily News is covering this story in detail, here is a link to a thorough update:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/aviation/2021/03/31/2-hours-lapsed-between-last-signal-and-overdue-report-on-fatal-alaska-helicopter-flight/
Thanks for sharing this! Sad story.
The NTSB released a preliminary report: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/aviation/2021/04/13/ntsb-heli-ski-pilot-was-maneuvering-over-a-chugach-mountain-ridge-just-before-crash-that-killed-5/