The 2020 Alaska mid-air collision occurred at approximately 8:27 a.m. on July 31, 2020, when a
de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver collided with a
Piper PA-12
The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser is an American three-seat, high wing, single-engine conventional landing gear-equipped light aircraft that was produced by Piper Aircraft between 1946-48. The PA-12 was an upgraded and redesignated Piper J-5.Plan ...
over the
Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, approximately two miles northeast of
Soldotna Airport, near mile 91.5 of the
Sterling Highway
The Sterling Highway is a state highway in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer.
Route description
Construction of the highway began in 1 ...
.
Most of the wreckage landed about from the road.
Alaska State Representative
Gary Knopp was piloting one of the aircraft and was killed in the accident.
Victims
All six occupants of the Beaver were killed as a result of the collision.
Five died instantly, while the sixth person succumbed to their injuries during transport to the local hospital.
, the pilot and sole occupant of the Piper, also died at the crash location.
He was elected to the
Alaska House of Representatives in 2016 and had been a long-time flight instructor and pilot. In his honor, Gov.
Mike Dunleavy ordered U.S. and Alaska state flags to be flown at half-staff for three days.
Aircraft and accident
The Beaver, manufactured in 1956 and operated by High Adventure Air Charter on lease from Soldotna Aircraft & Equipment Leasing LLC, was traveling from Longmere Lake to
Cook Inlet for a fishing trip.
Fairbanks
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...
. Knopp had been denied a medical certification in June 2012 for vision problems; after an appeal, the denial was upheld in July. In addition, although the Piper was registered to Knopp as N2587M, it had the aircraft registration number N1904T painted on the plane's exterior.[ N1904T had been reserved by Knopp but was not valid, causing the aircraft to be misidentified initially as a Piper Aztec.]
See also
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* 2019 Alaska mid-air collision
On May 13, 2019, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane operated by Mountain Air Service collided with a Taquan Air de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbine Otter floatplane over George Inlet, Alaska, United States. The DHC-2 broke up in mid-ai ...
References
External links
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* NTSB investigation number: ANC20LA074. Basic data can be retrieved by searching for the investigation number in th
CAROL QueryPDF download
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenai Peninsula mid-air collision
Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2020
Accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
2020 in Alaska
July 2020 events in the United States
Aviation accidents and incidents in Alaska
Mid-air collisions
Mid-air collisions involving general aviation aircraft