Alaska plane crash
Last updated at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 27
Two people are confirmed dead and one is in critical condition following a fatal plane crash near the small Southeast Alaska community of Haines.
The crash happened around 11 a.m. Saturday, according to NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson.
Witnesses reported the plane crashed shortly after takeoff.
Two of the occupants were confirmed dead at the scene, while a third person in critical condition was flown to Juneau, said Johnson.
The plane was a twin engine Piper PA-30.
NTSB officials out of Anchorage and the Alaska State Troopers out of Juneau are investigating the crash.
No further details have been made available at this time.
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Sole survivor of deadly plane crash said pilot intentionally shut off one of the aircraft's engines
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - The sole survivor of a plane crash near Haines last month told investigators that the pilot intentionally shut down one of the engines, according to a report made by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane went down on May 27, claiming the lives of the pilot and another passenger. The third passenger, seated in the rear of the plane, a Piper PA-30, survived the crash with “serious injuries,” the NTSB report said.
David Kunat of Juneau was piloting the plane along with Stanley Su Quoc Nguyen, 29, of Garden Grove, California and Chan Valentine, also of Juneau. Valentine was the only one to survive the crash.
In the NTSB report, which is comprised of preliminary findings and is not a definitive conclusion, it states that Valentine told investigators that, just prior to the crash, Kunat was attempting to show the passengers a piloting procedure.
“About 20 minutes into the flight the pilot intentionally shut down the right engine and was demonstrating how to restart the engine during flight,” the NTSB wrote.
Valentine reportedly told investigators that, after shutting down the engine on purpose to illustrate how a pilot can then restart it, “the engine would not rotate through with electrical power to start the engine.”
Attempts were then made to “air-start” the engine, by climbing in altitude and then diving the airplane down to “use airflow to assist in rotating the engine,” however this was unsuccessful.
Valentine told investigators that the last thing he remembered was the pilot making a low-level pass on a gravel airstrip to verify that it could be landed on. Kunat’s intention was to then “use a battery booster located in the baggage compartment to start the engine.”
The report also says a witness located across Lynn Canal, which is about 2 miles east of Glacier point, watched through binoculars as the plane crashed. The witness told investigators the airplane “reached the end of the airstrip, descended just before it banked to the right, and subsequently impacted the shoreline in a right wing-down, nose-down attitude.” The witness then assisted with rescue efforts for those aboard the plane.
The NTSB said that the investigation “revealed impact damage consistent with a right wing-down, nose-down airplane attitude during ground impact.” They said the wreckage was recovered for further examination.
