Off-Airport Alaska Landing Leads to Unnecessary Search for Pilot

The 23-year-old Taylorcraft operator was apparently rescued by another pilot.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 01:48 PM ET

Verified

The nose-over happened near Hatcher Pass, Alaska. [File Photo: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

An Alaska pilot survived an off-airport landing uninjured and was rescued by another pilot, but failed to notify authorities of his safety.
The incident's emergency locator transmitter (ELT) activated, triggering a multi-day, costly search by state and federal agencies for the missing pilot.
Authorities eventually located the empty aircraft and contacted the pilot, prompting a message to pilots about the importance of reporting self-rescues to prevent unnecessary deployment of search and rescue resources.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The agencies that perform search and rescue—be it the Civil Air Patrol, Air National Guard, or State Troopers—train year-round to find aircraft and pilots that experience unplanned off-airport landings.

Rarely is the pilot in an off-airport landing able to be rescued without these services, but that’s what happened in Alaska last week where the pilot of a 1946 Taylorcraft experienced a nose-over during such a landing near Hatcher Pass, Alaska.