ANCHORAGE, Alaska—A small plane that crashed in Alaska last month, killing a bush pilot who was featured on a reality TV show and a hunting guide, apparently struck a tree during takeoff from a rural airstrip, an official said Tuesday.
Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Alaska region chief, told Alaska Public Media the apparent strike of a large snag, or dead tree, made the plane’s left horizontal stabilizer inoperative. He said ”the airplane crashed shortly after that.”
The agency on Tuesday released a preliminary report on the crash that killed pilot Jim Tweto, 68, of Unalakleet, and Shane Reynolds, 45, of Orofino, Idaho. Mr. Tweto’s family-run rural aviation business was featured in three seasons of the Discovery Channel’s “Flying Wild Alaska” series. Mr. Tweto was also well known in Alaska’s aviation community….