Aviation

The plane, a type of experimental aircraft that resembled an extensively modified Piper PA-12, crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday morning, the NTSB’s Alaska chief said.

The pilot and sole passenger of the aircraft were found dead after it crashed near Tustumena Lake, Alaska State Troopers said.

The work stoppage shouldn’t affect flight availability if it doesn’t drag on for a long time, but could still bring significant losses for the company.

An Alaska Airlines spokesperson said the pilots recognized “a potential traffic conflict on the runway” and “immediately applied the brakes to prevent the incident from escalating.”

Another preliminary report issued Wednesday detailed more information about Saturday’s helicopter crash at the Naknek River near King Salmon.

The pilot of the Bell 206B helicopter, more commonly known as a Jet Ranger, was transporting four fishermen to a fishing site, according to the preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The deadly crash was one of five in the area over the weekend. A crash north of Glennallen also seriously injured two people, officials said.

Transcripts show National Transportation Safety Board investigators homed in on specific times, and the specific workers involved, when work on the problem door plug occurred.

The incident Sunday involved one of four helicopters on a flightseeing trip originating from a lodge, according to a federal investigator.

The directive from the FAA, requiring new inspections after discovering a possible safety concern on Boeing planes, is the third such command Boeing has received in just two days.

The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen not to challenge the $1.9 billion deal.

The union plans to conduct a survey of Alaska Air flight attendants to determine key issues that still need to be addressed.

A Haines-based pilot and two Yakutat residents who owned an air service died in the crash of the Beechcraft Bonanza in late July.

The National Transportation Safety Board released testimony by Boeing employees who said they were pressured to build planes too quickly and not raise safety concerns.

The announcement follows major changes at the regional carrier, including a large cutback to the company’s workforce earlier this year.

Some workers described recurring problems that slowed them down and resulted in work being done out of the normal order, causing pressure to mount.

The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a two-day hearing in Washington into the blowout of a panel from the side of a Boeing 737 Max airliner.

Antitrust enforcers looking into Alaska Air Group Inc.’s plan to buy Hawaiian Holdings Inc. will take more time to decide on the proposed $1.9 billion deal.

U.S. Coast Guard officials say the site was spotted Monday, prompting them to suspend the search for the missing 1948 Beechcraft Bonanza.

According to court filings, the pilot ascribes to beliefs connected to the sovereign citizens movement. He pleaded not guilty to three charges in court Tuesday.

Samuel Wright of Haines and Yakutat residents Tanya Hutchins and Hans Munich were en route from Juneau to Yakutat on Saturday.

No one was injured when the de Havilland turbine Beaver carrying nine people experienced a “power issue” returning to Talkeetna, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

A pilot and eight passengers on a flightseeing plane were rescued Friday after the aircraft lost power and made an emergency landing in the Alaska Range, the National Park Service said.