A charter helicopter with a pilot and three state employees on board crashed Thursday night near Utchavik, Alaska, according to official reports.
The staff members were staff members of the Geological and Geophysical Survey Bureau and were conducting field surveys near Utchachuvik. Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR). A coordinated search and rescue operation initiated by the Alaska DNR “discovered helicopter debris in the lake consistent with the description of the delayed aircraft.”
No survivors had been found as of Saturday, as the crash was “presumed fatal”. Associated Press (AP Communications) report. The wreckage of the helicopter was reportedly found in a lake near Wainwright, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Utcevík. Although shallow, the lake is reportedly very large, and Utcaczvik (formerly Barrow) is the northernmost city in the United States. (Related: Two Survive Helicopter Crashes Into Lake)
A rescue and recovery dive team was dispatched today after a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state employees crashed into a large lake near Wainwright in North Slope, Alaska, officials said. All four people on board are presumed dead. https://t.co/UlmnmSWsE6
— Anchorage Daily News (@adndotcom) July 22, 2023
Maritime Helicopters, owners of the ill-fated Bell 206 L4 helicopter, Confirmed “I am deeply saddened by this tragedy,” he said of the crash.[n]All crew members and passengers will be released pending notice from next of kin. “
“Four crew members are still missing and presumed dead,” Clint Johnson, Alaska regional director of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reported Saturday. Anchorage Daily News.
NTSB tweeted An investigation into the crash began on Friday.
