Alaska News

Low visibility may have been a factor in plane crash near Angoon

The pilot of a plane that crashed and killed three people last week in Southeast Alaska was flying an alternate route between the towns of Wrangell and Angoon due to low clouds and poor visibility, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report.

Pilot David Galla, 60, died in the crash along with two passengers, Greg Scheff, 61, and Thomas Siekawitch, 57. Twenty-one-year-old Ketchikan resident Morgan Enright was sole survivor of the wreck of the Cessna 206.

Enright's mother, Chere Enright, posted Thursday on the website CaringBridge that her daughter has stabilized after days in "extreme critical condition."

"We continue to have great news due to everyone's prayers! Morgan has opened her eyes a few times when instructed by the nurse (after her medications are reduced)," Chere wrote.

The NTSB report says the plane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings after crashing into snow-covered rising terrain about 17 miles southeast of the Angoon Airport. The crash site was at 2,240 feet above sea level, according to the report.

The small aircraft, operated by Wrangell-based Sunrise Aviation, departed from its hometown around 8:10 Friday morning, operating a commercial, on-demand flight under visual flight rules.

Sunshine Aviation's director of operations told crash investigators he was flying another company plane when he spoke with Galla over radio.

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"The accident pilot commented to the director of operations that while en route to Angoon, he was unable to make it through Pybus Bay due to low clouds and reduced visibility, and that he was going to try an alternate route that had a lower terrain elevation," the report says.

The area between Angoon and Wrangell consists of remote inland fjords, costal waterways and steep mountainous terrain.

The nearest weather facility was 17 miles away from the site of the accident in Angoon. On the morning of the crash, it reported calm wind, few clouds at 2,300 feet, broken clouds at 4,200 and visibility around 10 miles. Alaska NTSB Chief Clint Johnson noted the distance from the site, stating the weather conditions could have differed significantly.

After landing in Wrangell about 15 to 20 minutes after the in-air exchange, the director noticed Galla's plane's signal was stationary in a mountainous area, according to the report. He called the Angoon airport, which reported that the flight hadn't arrived.

The director got a call from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center a short time later; an emergency transmitter on the Cessna had started broadcasting.

A Coast Guard helicopter was initially unable to land near the crash site due to the difficult terrain. The helicopter later returned to the site and lowered members of the Sitka Moutain Rescue Group. The delays caused Enright to spend hours on the ground unaided.

The NTSB report says investigators arrived at the site on the morning of April 9. It notes that the Cessna was equipped with a Continental Motors engine, and a detailed examination of the engine is pending.

That engine has been removed from the plane and will be shipped to Mobile, Alabama, where the lead investigator of the crash, Shaun Williams, will dismantle it and determine if there were any mechanical problems, Johnson said.

A final report possibly listing a cause for the crash should be released in the typical frame of nine to 12 months, he said.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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