A De Havilland Otter, bigger than the more common Beaver.
Big Headline… Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, 86, has died in a plane crash in Alaska, according to his former chief of staff Mitch Rose.
Since there will be plenty of talk about the Senator and his life on other blogs and media outlets I won’t focus on that here.
I will say that I hope this won’t ignite some sort of bizarre fire storm about bush pilot safety, cause those guys are crazy. According to initial reports in this particular instance the pilot was flying under VFR (visual flight rules) and didn’t require a flight plan. I suppose, this is quite common under bush pilot standards but I still think I would prefer a pilot with instrument experience, and certified to the IFR level.
From the BBC article…
Former Nasa chief Sean O’Keefe was also aboard the small plane but survived, according to unconfirmed media reports.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the downed plane was a DeHavilland DHC-3T and was registered to Anchorage-based General Communications Incorporated (GCI).
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane had been headed to Agulowak Lodge on Lake Aleknagik from a site owned by GCI on Lake Nerka.
The Fiddle and Creel 