Preliminary Investigation Finds Tree Clipped On Takeoff Contributed To Jim Tweto Fatal Plane Crash

An investigation into the plane crash that killed famed Alaska bush Pilot Jim Tweto and hunting guide Shane Reynolds has initially concluded that the plane made contact with a tree upon takeoff, which contributed to the crash. Here are some details from Alaska’s News Source:

After clipping the tree, the left stabilizer of the aircraft, or its pitch control, was disabled. The aircraft crashed, uncontrolled after that. A guide, who was at the scene of the crash, said winds had been “gusting and changing a lot,” that day. Others in the area had described winds as unusual. Tweto was known to have used the mountain airstrip many times before. …

“There’s a lot more work to do,” said Clint Johnson, chief of NTSB’s Alaska Regional Office. “We don’t know if there was a momentary loss of engine power. We don’t know if there was a medical issue. We don’t know if there was maybe a control issue. Yes, the end result is, it appears at this early juncture, that the airplane struck a tree on takeoff and disabled one of the flight controls, but we don’t know what led up to that. That’s our job right now to see if we can figure out what happened during those couple of moments before the airplane hit the tree.”