|
|||||||||||
|
|
|||
By Jim Douglas (Update) |
||||
September 5, 2010 - The National Park Service announced that beginning
Saturday, September 4, 2010 it will significantly scale back the search
for the missing floatplane,
de Havilland
Beaver airplane, N9313Z carrying employees Mason McLeod, brothers
Neal and Seth Spradlin, and pilot Marco Alletto. The floatplane disappeared on August 21, 2010 after taking off from Swikshak Bay in Katmai National Park and Preserve. No sign of the floatplane or missing men has been reported since. ?We have logged almost 60,000 flight miles over the past two weeks. Despite an exhaustive effort |
||||
|
||||
on the part of the park, the
incident management team, and others, we have found no leads. We are
scaling back our efforts in part to reduce risk to those
participating in this complex operation,? said Alaska Regional
Director Sue Masica.
Katmai National Park and Preserve Superintendent Ralph Moore said today, ?All of us here at Katmai National Park and in the communities of Naknek and King Salmon are devastated by this tragic incident. To lose such fine people hurts deeply. Our hearts go out to the families of Neal, Seth, and Mason and to our friends at Branch River Air.? The National Park Service is grateful for the invaluable support of volunteer aircraft, agency aircraft, and pilot time that assisted with the search. The multi-agency effort included the National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska Fire Service, U.S. Coast Guard, the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Department of the Interior Aviation Management Directorate, Federal Aviation Administration, and National Transportation Safety Board, as well as local air taxi operators and others. The National Park Service will continue limited searching with regular park patrols and other resources. All pilots flying over the park are encouraged to observe and report any leads as well. August 25, 2010 the U.S. Coast Guard at first light assisted the National Park Service and the Anchorage Rescue Coordination Center using both the HC-130 Hercules and the MH-60 Jayhawk to cover more than 1,600 square miles in search of an over due aircraft. |
On August 21st Saturday
afternoon, a de Havilland Beaver airplane, N9313Z, departed
King Salmon is
located on the north bank of the
Onboard the de
Havilland Beaver were three parker service rangers; Mason McLeod age 26
and two brothers Neal Spradlin age 28 and Seth Spradlin age 20. The
pilots name has not been released. The aircraft departed about 1:45 PM
local time from Fifteen minutes later, a second aircraft, a Cessna 206 took off carrying two additional park employees and made the flight to King Salmon within an hour. However, the cloud ceiling forced the pilot to fly 500 feet above ground level and fly an alternate route due to the mountainous terrain. The pilot of this flight reported he did not see any signs of a downed aircraft nor did he pick up any ELT (emergency locator transmitter) signals. There is hope, many believe that the pilot was able to land the de Havilland Beaver and he and his passengers were able to seek shelter in a cove to wait out the storm. Pilots in the area are being encouraged to monitor frequency 121.5. |
Other News Stories |
?AvStop Online Magazine Contact Us Return To News |
|