https://mustreadalaska.com/plane-crash-cub-involved-was-registered-to-rep-gary-knopp/

Kenai lawmaker among those killed in midair collision over Kenai Peninsula
Aviation
Kenai lawmaker among those killed in midair collision over Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula
pencil Author: Zaz Hollander, James Brooks clock Updated: 2 minutes ago calendar Published 1 hour ago

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An Alaska legislator is among the dead after two aircraft collided in midair Friday morning near Soldotna’s airport on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, authorities say.

A single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver and a twin-engine Piper Aztec were involved in the crash approximately two miles northeast of the airport at 8:30 a.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The death of Rep. Gary Knopp, a Republican, was confirmed by several of his legislative colleagues.

Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai, speaks at breakfast event hosted by the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 in Kenai. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/For the Alaska Journal of Commerce)
Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai, speaks at breakfast event hosted by the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 in Kenai. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/For the Alaska Journal of Commerce)
Knopp’s wife, Helen, said he had been flying his own plane Friday morning.

Reached by phone after the crash but before Knopp’s death had been confirmed, she said she was waiting to hear that he was safe.

”I’m as anxious as anybody else waiting for him to touch down,” she said. She did not answer her phone after word of Knopp’s death was announced.

Born in Whitefish, Montana, Knopp was a certified flight instructor and registered pilot. He was elected to the Alaska Legislature in 2016 after serving on the Kenai Borough Assembly. He was a candidate in this year’s Republican primary for House District 30, and his name will remain on the ballot.

The number of people on board the two aircraft was not immediately available.

Investigators from FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

The wreckage fell near the Sterling Highway, according to NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson. The highway was briefly closed before reopening by 10 a.m., according to the Alaska State Troopers.

There was no additional information immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

And another Beaver is removed from the pool...

Is it just me, or has it been an awful year for that sort of mishap?

I think the actual numbers are down a bit because people were not getting out that much?

Ah. Last summer seems like his summer.

That sucks.

Yeah, last summer was really bad. Turns out tourism costs lives, so we are working on banning it.

Knopp was anything but a Republican and my mom always said "if you don't have anything nice to say you should not say anything" so that being said...........

Yup! Nuff said...

I listen to Dan fa gan every morning just to keep up with back home and I will say I feel f or everybody else in involved

Heard 7 deceased.
Friggin horrible.
So sad. 😞

I will say that it is amazing that someone did survive that crash. High Adventure Air has a good flying reputation, I wonder what happened?

That was the high adventure beaver in involved?

Yes. Apparently pilot w/ 5 passengers.

Knopp in a Piper Aztec w/ 1 passenger headed to Fbx

From what I heard Knopp was solo.
I don’t believe there were any survivors.

That's the thing with updates - they change info.



ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A crash involving two aircraft near Soldotna has resulted in the deaths of seven people, Alaska State Troopers said Friday afternoon.

Troopers have identified Rep. Gary Knopp of Kenai as the only occupant of one of the planes. The other plane had six passengers who were identified as 67-year-old Pilot Gregory Bell of Soldotna, 40-year-old David Rogers from Kansas, 26-year-old Caleb Hulsey, 25-year-old Heather Hulsey, 24-year-old Mackay Hulsey and 23-year-old Kirstin Wright all from South Carolina.

Troopers say family has been notified. Troopers say there was debris left on the Sterling Highway near where the crash happened at mile 91.5. The highway was temporarily closed “due to safety concerns.”

Troopers say all occupants of the two planes were reported deceased on the scene with the exception of one person who died on the way to the hospital.

That sure doesn't look like an Aztec... Or a Beaver. I'm guessing Knopp's Cup and the Beaver.

Have flown with the High Adventure folks about 8 times. Fine hard working family with what I considered a quality outfit.

Bad deal, and my strongest condolences,

Updated: The names of all passengers in the aircraft collision in Soldotna this morning have been released. All seven have died.

Troopers identified Rep. Gary Knopp, age 67, of Kenai, as the sole occupant of one plane. The six decedents from the other aircraft are identified as Pilot Gregory Bell, age 57 of Soldotna; Guide David Rogers, age 40 of Kansas; Caleb Hulsey, age 26, of South Carolina; Heather Hulsey, age 25 of South Carolina; Mackay Hulsey, age 24, of South Carolina; Kirstin Wright, age 23, of South Carolina.

At approximately 8:27 am hours Alaska State Troopers in Soldotna received a report of a plane crash near mile 91.5 of the Sterling Highway.

The majority of the wreckage was located approximately two hundred yards from the road. The crash was reported by multiple witnesses. AST, AWT, Soldotna Police Department, Central EMS, State Parks and FAA all responded to the crash site.

Investigation determined that two planes were involved in a mid-air collision; one plane had a single occupant, Gary Knopp, and the other aircraft had six people onboard.

NTSB has been notified and will be conducting the investigation as to the cause of this crash.

“This is an unfathomable tragedy for multiple families today. The DPS sends a heartfelt condolence to all who lost a loved one in this mid-air collision,” said Commissioner Amanda Price, Department of Public Safety. “Troopers and partner agencies have worked together diligently at the scene and have reached out to next of kin to notify them of this heartbreaking incident.”

Must Read Alaska has confirmed that Rep. Gary Knopp was the pilot of a plane involved in a midair plane crash this morning in Soldotna. Seven souls were lost in the collision.

The governor has released statements of condolences for the families.

Knopp, a representative from District 30, was piloting his own plane. The other was a charter air service “High Adventure Air” based out of Longmere Lake, with several on board.

The planes collided over Mayoni Street, close to mile 91.5 of the Sterling Highway. The highway was closed for a time but is now open and Troopers are on the scene.

Knopp, who represents District 30, reportedly owns a Piper Aztec. The other plane was a Beaver, according to MRAK sources. The parts of the planes were barely visible from Mayoni Street, a dirt road.

Central Peninsula Hospital confirmed one person arrived by ambulance; that person later died.

High Adventure Air has an excellent reputation for communicating their location and intentions for air traffic. Their base of operations is about two miles from the Soldotna air strip at Longmere Lake.

This is a breaking story. Check back for more information.

https://mustreadalaska.com/confirme...-gary-knopp-in-midair-crash-in-soldotna/

Even on FoxNews:


https://www.foxnews.com/us/alaska-midair-collision-kills-gop-state-lawmaker-6-others

Three kids from one family...wow...tragedy x3

adios cabron

Too bad his buddy Chuck Kopp wasn't with him?

And....

Horrible all around. 3 from the same family and young.

We drove by the site about 10 on our way into town.

If my wife hadn't been doing her usual dink-a-thon, we would have been there about the time they fell out of the sky.

Sometimes it does pay to be perpetually late, I guess.

Hard times for a lot of folks here, and Carolina.

On of the victims, David Rogers, was a friend of a guy that I go to church with. He'd hunted turkeys with him in Kansas.

Maybe they can figure out what happened.

Considering the relative positions of Longmere Lake (about a mile west of me) and the Soldotna airport, I suspect Greg was climbing out, and into the path of Knopp from underneath, with Gary overtaking at converging angles, and neither could see the other. Obviously, neither did, anyway.

I suppose they must have some records of what each was doing...

At some point ADS-B in and out is going to be mandatory for all planes. Even then it won't eliminate mid airs, but it will certainly help.

there's been a lot of mid-airs lately in uncontrolled airspace

Troops:

Spoke today with a gentleman that piloted for High Adventure for 15+ years and had been in recent contact with the family. His version is the Beaver was climbing out of Longmere to cross Cook Inlet (west). The Aztec, flight planned for Anchorage (north), came out of Soldotna, initially headed east, and then did a 180 back to west. Evidence from the Beaver suggest it was clipped from behind and possibly below as the rear sections of both floats were prop sliced as was a detached portion of the Beaver's tail section. Given very limited debris fields, it appears both craft lost all flight capabilities and simply fell from the sky. One would think a Beaver would be outrunning an Aztec and not likely be clipped from behind, but my knowledge of a twin Aztec is zilch.

Edited: From my feeble memory, I believe the Beaver also lost a wing as it fell.

A second High Adventure Beaver was about 5 minutes behind with the balance of the family (dad and a son). They did not witness the incident, but were immediately concerned when unable to make contact with the first. High Adventure had 3 Beavers, and they are still flying the remaining in an attempt to fulfill contracts. They have a long long history in the area that I think dates back maybe to the 60's when the family patriarch initially came north from Corvallis, Oregon.

Hope the official details surface soon, but seems the Feds can take months or years to get their ducks in order.

Bad deal all around,

A beaver is awesome, but it ain't fast. It would be odd if the beaver was hit low and behind, as the Aztec is low wing and he should have had a good view if he climbed into him.
I would think the Aztec descended into the beaver, as the view underneath would have been obstructed.

It's my understanding that the Aztec numbers were being used on a rebuilt Supercub.

If it was a supercub and not an Aztec, that would make more sense. I wondered who the tundra tires belonged to in the crash picture.

David Rogers' daughter works for my son in law in Topeka, KS. Nice young lady I'm told.
Terrible tragedy.

The High Adventure Beavers wear floats for their summer season as most clients are fishermen.

Very sad deal...

Super sad deal as Sitka said.
It was never an Aztec - that was a press error that got propagated. PA-12, super cruiser. Think cub with an extra few inches around the middle.

If Knopp turned back West (evidence?}), maybe he had a mechanical , turned back, and was busy watching his dash, and not the sky? Especially if he made it a left hand turn, Gregg would have thought Gary clear, and have been in Gary's blind spot.

speculation....

Who to vote for tomorrow?

Gillham had a residency problem on the PFD by way of outside hunting license or something like that.

Uh oh another joe miller scandal..

Ok I found it, it happened in 1989. The Micciche campaign ran this ad 2 yrs ago. So yeah almost 30yrs ago this happened.. Just vote for Gillham

This is paid for by the District 30 Republican Party, Neil DuPerron, chair 204 Lawton Drive number 3, Kenai. Ron Gillham, District O write-in candidate, claims to be your PFD protector. Really? Are you sure? Here’s some facts: in 1989, Ron Gillham lied on his resident hunting license application. Later that year, Gillham killed a moose and a black bear while pretending to be an Alaska resident. In 1990, Ron lied again on his resident hunting license application, and later that year, he killed a Dall sheep and a caribou while pretending to be an Alaska resident again. Ron Gillham was convicted for taking big game while claiming to be an Alaska resident. In court, Ron admitted he knew he wasn’t a resident, but he applied for a resident hunting license. And to top it all off, in 1991 Gillham applied for a dividend. PFD protector? I don’t think so. How can Ron Gillham get a PFD when he can’t qualify for a resident hunting license?

So he's a liar, poacher and thief?

I just don't know what to believe sometimes.

Ok vote for Gary.

Yes i was, by comparison. But, its not about me.

I changed it I was being a cyber bully. So just vote for Gary

3 weeks ago, the focus was to get knopp removed. More complex situation now.

Our representatives Nueman has been MIA and looks like he might lose to McCabe. I’m voting for McCabe because I met nueman and he’s 100% politician. Also he didn’t support David Eastman probably one of the most conservative members of the house. I don’t see Eastman losing to his challenger people in his district love him. He’s in probably the most conservative district in the Valkey.

It was mandatory 1 January 2020 for class A and within 30 miles of class B and C airspace (Airspace diagram)

Given the proximity to Anchorage Class C I can't imagine they didn't have at least the "out" portion. But you still have to have to use it and still must keep your eyes out of the cockpit. I fly with it via Stratus receiver linked to the iPad and linked to my headset and my clubs planes also have it built into their Garmin EFIs and given the traffic on the east coast it's one of the best things you can spend money on for safety IMO.

Even at 3 am your time this am there is low altitude traffic around Anchorage!

Hot off the AP wire:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ntsb-lawmaker-plane-crash-flew-204624896.html

"An Alaska state lawmaker who was involved in a July midair collision that killed seven people was piloting his plane even though his medical flight certification was denied eight years ago because of vision problems, a federal agency reported Tuesday"

May not have been the #1 factor in the collision, but certainly could have been a contributing factor. Pilot error is prolly the # 1 factor.

There are about two dozen. Midair accidents a year in the USA . One needs to look out the window and in some places the traffic can be down right scary. I have never been a fan of Aspen CO where you are cleared for takeoff coming into to land straight at you as you take off and it's not unusual to pass traffic inside 1/2 a mile and never see them.
Not Fun.

Isn't that special! Leaves the Rs to caucus with Ds and screw all Alaskans. I bet the families of the other victims get to sue big time...

Flying in violation of FAA rules may void any inurance.

I cannot imagine an insurance company not doing due diligence and checking on his license at least once in 8 years...

Rep. Gary Knopp, who died in a midair collision on July 31 some 2.5 miles from the Soldotna Airport, had been denied medical certification eight years earlier in June 2012 by the Alaska Regional Flight Surgeon due to unacceptable vision issues. The denial was appealed and sustained in July 2012.

Why the late lawmaker’s vision was not corrected with glasses is not known, but certainly will be a line of investigation for the National Transportation Safety Board, which is trying to piece together the events that led to the crash.

Not having a medical certification could have something or nothing to do with the accident, but it’s like driving a car without a valid license.

The midair collision led to the death of seven people, including Knopp, who was piloting his own Piper PA-12, which struck a de Havilland DHC-2 (Beaver) airplane, with six souls aboard.

The DHC-2 was operated as an on-demand charter flight. The PA-12 was operated as personal aircraft.

According to the NTSB report, the float-equipped DHC-2, operated by High Adventure Charter, departed Longmere Lake in Soldotna, bound for a remote lake on the west side of Cook Inlet. The purpose of the flight was to transport the passengers to a remote fishing location.

Knopp’s plane departed Soldotna Airport, bound for Fairbanks. Knopp was flying in an “experimental airplane,” as rated by the FAA and was not subject to stringent FAA standards.

Knopp’s plane’s N number was not valid, however. The word “EXPIEREMENTAL” was applied to the inside of the lower clam shell door, an FAA requirement so passengers on such planes know that they are experimental.

A search of the FAA registration database revealed that the registration number had been reserved by Knopp but was not a valid registration. His registration number on the aircraft was for twin engine aircraft, but the PA-12 he was flying was a single engine.

The entire report is at this link.


From MRAK

Not really surprised. Could get interesting.

The term "Fast and loose" comes to mind.

I am surprised at the comments on MRAK. Calling Suzanne evil for reporting the facts. Folks seem to get pretty sensitive when their favorites are involved, even when clearly wrong.

Flying IFR? I Follow Road. If i can see it....

Suzanne is clearly a right wing extremist picking on a dead democrat!

I like her style...

Easy, big fella!

FYI - I understand she grew up spending winters with her family at the falling-in cabin on Byer's Lake. Byer being the family name. Don Sheldon would fly them in for the trapping season, and out in the sprinl. I think they commercial fished in the summer. Well before Parks Hwy was built.

I'm told (same source) she takes a picture of the cabin every year, documenting its deterioration.

Not first hand knowledge...

Very interesting...

Easy, big fella!

Sad that so many were taken out by a guy flaunting the rules.

https://mustreadalaska.com/ntsb-rep...mpairments-had-failed-medical-clearance/


Looks like his license was taken away 8 years prior.
His estate is gonna get picked clean.

Too bad Chuck was afraid to fly with him...

What an azzhole. Damn shame it couldn't have been a single plane crash.

Did "NTSB" make a determination as to who was a "fault" for this mid-air........???

Except it's not, what a dumb comparison.

Is that because it is impossible to kill someone with a car?

The comparisons seem pretty obvious...

It wasn’t as if he lost his medical for cardiac. He lost it for ocular. And not something “correctable.” He never should have been flying. Given the what is known of this crash, his estate is hosed.

Mr. Knopfd was clearly at fault, above the law and innocent people died. Don’t shoot the messengers. And yes his estate should be hosed for his negligence but it doesn’t bring back loved ones.

Small correction; Knopp was not above the law, he simply *thought* he was.

He seemed like a good rep until last session, then turned into a smug jackass.

It sure looks that way but the NTSB is very methodical. They will examine every aspect of the incident and lay out the facts. Blame could be attributed to both pilots and others. It is best to wait until they complete their investigation.

I have read a number of aircraft accident reports and I have been surprised more than once by what the NTSB uncovered and what they determined lead to a specific incident.

Greg Bell was an EXCELLENT pilot, friend and boss.
Knopp was flying with numerous violations. He had no business being in the air.

+1

I doubt Knopp hid his illegal flying from everyone. I wonder who else knew...