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An Alaska crash story #1
Paklook Air dba Yute Commuter Service FAR Part 135 commuter/air taxi
February 6, 2020
5 fatalities (all onboard)
PIC total time ~700 hrs; 30 hrs make/model
Piper Saratoga N7632C
12 miles west Tuntutuliak
Investigation still open. (NTSB pic) /1
Paklook Air dba Yute Commuter Service FAR Part 135 commuter/air taxi
February 6, 2020
5 fatalities (all onboard)
PIC total time ~700 hrs; 30 hrs make/model
Piper Saratoga N7632C
12 miles west Tuntutuliak
Investigation still open. (NTSB pic) /1
The pilot was hired one month prior with 611 hrs; this was his 4th line flight for the company. The flight was scheduled VFR, Bethel-Kipnuk-Chefornak-Bethel. IMC prevailed at BET, KPN & Chefornak at the time of departure (abt 1040 local). The crash occurred at abt 11:10AM. /2
The pilot departed BET using a Special VFR. Another pilot departing right before him reported a 600’ overcast ceiling.
The first leg was 100 nautical miles. The aircraft was reported overdue at 11:40 by the Kipnuk agent. /3
The first leg was 100 nautical miles. The aircraft was reported overdue at 11:40 by the Kipnuk agent. /3
The wreckage was found along the BET-KPN route. It covered an area 390 feet long on level snow. /4
At time of the crash BET (50 miles NE) reported 800’ overcast & 5 miles viz in mist. KPN reported 600’ overcast & 9 miles viz in light snow. Within an hour of the crash BET, KPN & Chefornak all reported IMC as low as 400’ overcast & 1/4 viz, light snow, mist, freezing fog. /5
Conditions were brutal the next day, when most of the bodies were recovered. The wind blew a steady 25kts, pushing the temperature to almost 50 below zero. The Tuntutuliak S&R team had to reach the site on snowmachines. /6 https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/02/10/for-rescuers-retrieving-passengers-from-y-k-crash-site-the-task-was-grim-and-cold/
The names of the deceased, including the 34 year-old pilot, were released soon thereafter. /7 https://alaska-native-news.com/names-of-february-6th-yute-air-crash-victims-released/47447/
Paklook Air dba Yute Commuter Service was registered with the state under current owners Michael Wade Renfro & Jacqueline Renfro in Sept 17. It then crashed in 12/2017, 2/2018, 3/2019, 4/2019, 11/2019 and Tuntutuliak in 2/20. (Here's a pic of one crash at Goodnews Bay.) /8
The same people own & operate Renfro’s Alaskan Adventures, an on-demand Part 135 supporting a hunting/guiding biz. In 2016 Renfro’s was in a midair collision near Russian Mission with Hageland Aviation (part of RAVN Air) resulting in the deaths of both pilots & all 3 pax. /9
The weather conditions at the time of the midair, on August 31, were VFR. The NTSB determined the Probable Cause was due to the failure of both pilots to “see and avoid”. /10
Full report: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20160831X62719&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=FA
Full report: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20160831X62719&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=FA
In the course of the RUS investigation Renfro’s lost its “party” status after it was discovered that Mr. Renfro had provided confidential information from the investigation to an outside consulting firm & lawyers.
/11
/11
Renfro’s Adventures has been involved in five other accidents: 7/2005, 7/2009, 9/2015, 6/2016 and, most recently, 9/2019. All together, companies owned & operated by Mr. Renfro have crashed 12 times, 10 of them in the last 5 years. (This pic is from the Mtn Village crash.) /12
Earlier this week, Mr. Renfro made a bid to purchase 14 of the Cessna aircraft owned by bankrupt Ravn Air Group. He stated that Yute Commuter Service currently owned 14 aircraft & planned to expand his operation if the bid was accepted. /13 https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/07/07/ravn-sells-off-dozens-of-small-planes-to-alaska-companies/
When asked about Yute’s accident history, Mr. Renfro said Yute was small enough to keep a “huge emphasis on safety”. No inquiry was made as to how a company dedicated to safety would dispatch a 700-hour VFR pilot into solid & forecasted IMC. (Screenshot of Yute's home page.) /14
The final report for the Yute Commuter Service Tuntutuliak crash will likely not be out until later next year. /fin
Link to Preliminary Report: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20200206X34831&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=FA
Link to Preliminary Report: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20200206X34831&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=FA
