NTSB: Helicopter in crash that killed 2 near Deadhorse received weather clearance
Jun. 5—The helicopter that crashed on the North Slope on Wednesday received a special weather clearance before taking off, federal officials say.
The pilot and sole passenger were killed in the crash, which occurred 25 to 30 miles southwest of Deadhorse, according to a statement from the North Slope Borough.
The Robinson R-66 helicopter was operated by Pollux Aviation.
A company pilot was behind the controls, along with a passenger from a private company that had contracted the helicopter to conduct wildlife surveys, according to Clint Johnson, Alaska chief with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The helicopter took off from Deadhorse around 10:30 or 10:40 a.m., Johnson said. Pollux lost contact with its tracking signal just before 11 a.m., he said.
The company contacted the Rescue Coordination Center, which contacted the NTSB, triggering a search by the North Slope Borough Search and Rescue Department, officials said. The search and rescue team confirmed the fatalities.
The pilot and passenger have not been officially identified. A North Slope Borough spokesperson on Thursday said there was no new information she could release.
Johnson described the topography in the area of the crash as "snow-covered, flat featureless terrain."
He said the pilot had received what's known as a Special Visual Flight Rules clearance.
The clearance is commonly used, especially in rural Alaska, to land in low ceilings or visibility. Authorized by a national Federal Aviation Administration rule, it gives pilots the option of relying on what they can see, rather than cockpit instruments, to fly in and out of airports in deteriorating weather.
The last contact that controllers had with the Pollux pilot Wednesday was when he flew out of the specific zone where the clearance applied, Johnson said.
The NTSB will be investigating the weather conditions in the area of the crash, he said.
"As far as visibility, other aircraft were operating. Our intent is to figure out in real time what was going on weather-wise," Johnson said.
Investigators with the agency plan to conduct an initial on-scene investigation, and then transport the wreckage back to a secure area either in Deadhorse or at Prudhoe Bay, Johnson said.
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