Renowned bush pilot Jim Twett and his hunting guide died Friday in a plane crash in western Alaska.

Tweto, 68, and hunting and fishing guide Shane Reynolds, 45, were killed when a Cessna 180 crashed 55 miles northeast of Shaktlik on Friday morning, Alaska State Police said. . daily shipping. According to the news agency, the plane took off but did not climb and eventually crashed. State police said they had recovered the body from the crash site, provisionally identified it, and transported it to the state coroner’s office in Anchorage, Alaska. (Related article: Four children missing in plane crash found alive after 40 days in Colombian jungle)

A resident of Unacrete, Alaska, Tweto was widely known for “Flying Wild Alaska.” series on the Discovery Channel. The Kansas native moved to Alaska at age 18 to play hockey at the University of Anchorage, but soon became interested in flying and abandoned a promising hockey career to become a pilot. according to Check out his Discovery Channel profile. According to his bio, he is revered as one of Alaska’s finest small plane pilots, with more than 30,000 flight hours and only one accident in 2007. According to his bio and the Anchorage Daily News, he started small airlines that later grew into Hageland Aviation, Ella Alaska and Rabun Air Group. report. Rabun Air Group’s tumultuous history includes becoming Alaska’s largest regional airline before filing for coronavirus-related bankruptcy in 2020, according to the report. bloomberg. Raven also suffered from several aviation accidents 1997, 2002 (advance purchase ticket), 2013 and in August and October 2016.

Tweto’s daughter Ariel announced her death on Instagram on Friday, saying Jim “died doing what he truly loved”.