The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary findings Wednesday on the fatal plane crash in Nanwalek that killed two people and seriously injured a third late last month.
The NTSB report says the Cessna T207 was lining up to land when it veered right of the runway, then turned sharply left before crashing on the beach.
The crash killed 48-year-old pilot Daniel Bunker and 38-year-old passenger Jenny Irene Miller. Miller was a well known Inupiaq artist and photographer, originally from Nome.
Investigators say the surviving passenger told them the plane banked left about 100 feet above the ground before it went down. Witnesses on the ground and another pilot nearby gave similar accounts.
Witnesses also reported seeing a dog on the runway just before the crash. Alaska NTSB chief Clint Johnson said Bunker told another pilot he was going around because there was something on the runway.
“He made that statement to a company airplane that was in trail a couple of miles behind him, and that's what we know at this point right now,” Johnson said.
The plane was operating as an air taxi for Smokey Bay Air, which is based out of Homer and flies in and out of the area regularly. Nanwalek is roughly 25 miles southwest of Homer and only reachable by boat or plane.
Johnson said the wreckage has been moved to a secure facility near Wasilla, where investigators will examine it for any mechanical problems.
“There was also some electronic data that was harvested from the airplane, again, to kind of give us, hopefully give us a little bit better of an idea of the final moments leading up to this tragic accident,” Johnson said.
The investigation will also look at how the airline operates, which Johnson says is standard practice.
Johnson says it’s too early to determine the cause and that the investigation is still in its early stages. He says investigators are aiming to release the final report within a year’s time.