Kavik Air / Blue River awareness

[Larry Bartlett]

This season left me feeling like these companies are an accident waiting to happen due to the shear volume of moose and caribou hunters they dropped on top of everyone else, until it happened last night.

28-year-old Palmer pilot dies in plane crash in Fort Yukon region

The Cessna 206 went down on the Porcupine River after taking off from a remote area northwest of Chalkyitsik, authorities say.

www.adn.com

Palmer pilot dead after crashing into Interior Alaska river

A Palmer woman died on Tuesday in a plane crash in a remote part of Interior Alaska, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

A couple of my raft customers were setup with Kavik Air by a competitor hunt planner. They witnessed the crash on take off and tried to reach the plane to rescue but it was not to be for Hannah.

If you're considering flying with these knuckle heads or their hunt planner, just don't. They do not belong in the arctic and they need to scale way back to avoid this tragic nonsense.

 

[TX338]

Wow. I flew with Hannah early September on my caribou hunt.
Tragic.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Just curious Larry, but how does dropping people off in a busy area any more unsafe then a non busy area? Is it because they are trying to land on bad make shift strips?

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

 

[Hunter1985]

I flew with Hannah. Our group had a great experience with Kent and everything he said was how the logistics and hunt should go. Blue river pilots and staff were great. This is tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers go out to Hannah and her family and coworkers.

 

[VernAK]

Great write-up Larry.

The demand for hunts is huge and prices are climbing so there's new and rather inexperienced outfits attempting to capitalize $$$$$$$.

Too often I see Roksliders posting great accolades about their pilot/outfitter because they had a good trip without knowing "the rest of the story".

Please do your research!

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Great write-up Larry.

The demand for hunts is huge and prices are climbing so there's new and rather inexperienced outfits attempting to capitalize $$$$$$$.

Too often I see Roksliders posting great accolades about their pilot/outfitter because they had a good trip without knowing "the rest of the story".

Please do your research!

makes sense. And was it a great trip because they shot animals and the rest is kind of fuzzy. You dont see many reports of people talking about bad trips if they killed something. Or calling out the operations for being crappy even though they ended up shooting something. It would be interesting to know the amount of non res hunters using flight services compared to residents.

 

[Akmoosabou]

It seams to me that using a tragedy to puff up your own business and gain is very poor sportsmanship
Especially because the cause of the accident has not be disclosed yet so you may have throw someone’s name under the mud wrongly
Many many people will be morning the truly tragic loss of a 28 year old woman instead of shit talking and I for one will be in that group

 

[william schmaltz]

I don’t think it’s an issue of someone doesn’t belong somewhere. I read a good article yesterday about how these companies ultimately put the call in the pilot’s hands, but a pilot’s decision (especially a young pilot) is obviously largely influenced by company culture and front office pressure. A lot of these accidents do have a common theme; and that is they seem to happen to the same companies that notoriously seem to be overbooked. This September had horrible weather. Everyone got behind at some point. Some operations WAY more than others. The pilot makes the call, but when people in the office are going on about being behind, clients are waiting in the hangar/field for days, meat is rotting, the notorious bush pilot one liners are being repeated, etc; I’d imagine a young pilot feels the pressure. It seems we’re quickly heading a point where the FAA and Big Game Commercial Services Board are going to get involved. There was another plane that hit the tundra last week that killed 4. Same operator that has a fatal every 18 months or so.

RIP to the young lady. Horrible, horrible stuff.

 

[z987k]

Great write-up Larry.

The demand for hunts is huge and prices are climbing so there's new and rather inexperienced outfits attempting to capitalize $$$$$$$.

Too often I see Roksliders posting great accolades about their pilot/outfitter because they had a good trip without knowing "the rest of the story".

Please do your research!

The general public doesn't have the ability to know what is or isn't safe with flying. They just don't have the tools to have any idea.
You can go on reputation but it doesn't really get you very far.
Lots of reputable operations that are a gong show.

 

[z987k]

I don’t think it’s an issue of someone doesn’t belong somewhere. I read a good article yesterday about how these companies ultimately put the call in the pilot’s hands, but a pilot’s decision (especially a young pilot) is obviously largely influenced by company culture and front office pressure. A lot of these accidents do have a common theme; and that is they seem to happen to the same companies that notoriously seem to be overbooked. This September had horrible weather. Everyone got behind at some point. Some operations WAY more than others. The pilot makes the call, but when people in the office are going on about being behind, clients are waiting in the hangar/field for days, meat is rotting, the notorious bush pilot one liners are being repeated, etc; I’d imagine a young pilot feels the pressure. It seems we’re quickly heading a point where the FAA and Big Game Commercial Services Board are going to get involved. There was another plane that hit the tundra last week that killed 4. Same operator that has a fatal every 18 months or so.

RIP to the young lady. Horrible, horrible stuff.

The FAA doesn't care in the slightest. At least in any way that would change anything.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

An air service that is flying 100+ hunters into and out of the field in a 3-1/2 week season results in tired pilots and tired aircraft maintenance. That's not my opinion, that is what happens. That's why, perhaps, air services with next to spotless records do scores fewer groups every season...to provide safe and reliable field transport and their planes stay ready for service.

What happened to Hannah is horrible. If she had been flying for a better class of Part 135 operators this post wouldn't exist and she would.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

AKmoose, I'm not talkin shit about anyone. That implies I hear false or unchecked information and then "talk shit" without facts. I'm relaying what is really happening up here on the ground and in the air, factually. And I'm certainly not touting or promoting my own services.

 

[william schmaltz]

An air service that is flying 100+ hunters into and out of the field in a 3-1/2 week season results in tired pilots and tired aircraft maintenance. That's not my opinion, that is what happens. That's why, perhaps, air services with next to spotless records do scores fewer groups every season...to provide safe and reliable field transport and their planes stay ready for service.

Respectfully, this exactly describes an operation I’ve seen you repeatedly suggest on this site. Several hundred hunters every September and has had more incidents in the last decade than the Palestinian Air Force. I know they use a pile of your rafts. Should we be calling these sort of operations all the time, or just when it’s financially beneficial?

I say always.

 

[AKGuide77]

Larry, within the last day, a family lost a daughter and sister and friends lost a beloved friend. And your first thought is to get on a forum and play I told you so before the cause of accident has even been determined. All to make your business look better. Akmoose was being nice. You are a shitstain on the industry up here and I hope you never have to go through what Hannah’s family and friends are enduring right now.

 

[n816kc]

All we really know is a plane crashed and the pilot died. There are a myriad of possible reasons. Fortunately there were no passengers aboard. It’ll be interesting to see what the witnesses observed. Condolences to the family and friends of the pilot.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

S'all good fellas. My first thought was for Hannah's family. You were notified because all businesses (air and ground) related to hunting are already taking deposits for next season and beyond. If you're booking with this business, you're now informed of real issues that could create problems for you and your partners. Use the information or don't. These forums are for sharing what you know, what you think, and sharing it for the greater good of your community. If the information offends you, opt out.

AKGuide77, bring your opinion and real name to me when you have more than 1 post. I've lived and operated in Fairbanks AK for 29 years. Regrettably I have lost too many friends and family to tragic untimely deaths. If I can save one of the knuckleheads on this forum then your personal opinion is weightless.

My Hunt Plan service is full indefinitely, so I'm not marketing anything here. The witnesses were customers and that's where that ends.

LB out

 

[VernAK]

The general public doesn't have the ability to know what is or isn't safe with flying. They just don't have the tools to have any idea.
You can go on reputation but it doesn't really get you very far.
Lots of reputable operations that are a gong show.

I agree that it can be difficult for the general public to know. The first hint should be ease of booking. If the first-time fly-in hunter can easily get booked, they should wonder about that outfit.