AUGUST 9, 2023:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter that crashed on Alaska’s remote and vast North Slope in July, killing three state scientists and the pilot, stopped sending flight-status data to a real-time tracking system as it passed over the southeastern shoreline of an Arctic lake, according to a preliminary report on the crash released Tuesday (Aug. 8, 2023).
The Bell 206L-4 helicopter was later found fragmented and partially submerged in Lake Itinik, a large oval-shaped body of water that measures 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) wide in some places, according to the report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
There was no indication in the report of what caused the helicopter to crash into the lake in clear conditions. The cause typically is detailed months later when federal investigators file their final report.
The last of the helicopter’s data transmissions sent every three minutes indicated it was traveling in a northwesterly direction at an altitude of 144 feet (43.89 meters) above mean sea level at 107 mph (172 kph), the report said.
The terrain around the lake is flat, featureless Arctic tundra. The report said the lake is reported to be at 56 feet (17.07 meters) above sea level.
The July 20, 2023, crash claimed the lives of a pilot and three scientists with Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources, working in the Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys. The helicopter is owned and operated by Maritime Helicopters of Homer, Alaska. It was under contract to take scientific crews to various remote locations on the North Slope so they could conduct field work.
Killed in the crash were noted permafrost expert Ronald Daanen, 51, a native of the Netherlands living in Fairbanks; Justin Germann, 27, a native of North Dakota also living in Fairbanks; recent University of Indiana graduate Tori Moore, 26, of South Bend, Indiana; and pilot Bernard “Tony” Higdon, 48, of North Pole, Alaska. Both the chartered helicopter and state employees were based in Utqiagvik, the nation’s northernmost community formerly known as Barrow, for the duration of the contract.
On the day of the fatal crash, the helicopter and crew departed Utqiagvik just after 10 a.m. Their route was flying about 60 miles (96.56 kilometers) south for a brief stop at the Atqasuk, Alaska, airport, and then continuing on to conduct field work at remote sites east of the community of Wainwright. The report says the crash occurred about an hour after they left Utqiagvik.
When the helicopter did not return to Utqiagvik that night as planned, the North Slope Search and Rescue team launched in a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to search for the missing aircraft.
The wreckage was found about 3:15 a.m., July 21, in the shallow waters of the lake, located about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) east of Wainwright, the report said. The bodies were removed July 23.
The wreckage was recovered from the lake on July 30 and taken by helicopter to Utqiagvik for examination. It was later taken to Anchorage, where further examinations are pending.
JULY 25, 2023:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter crash in Alaska took the lives of a permafrost expert from the Netherlands, a pilot who recently transitioned from the military to fly charter helicopters and two other scientists conducting field work in the North Slope, one of the remotest regions in the U.S.
Ronald Daanen, 51, and Justin Germann, 27, both from Fairbanks; Tori Moore, 26, of South Bend, Indiana; and pilot Bernard “Tony” Higdon, 48, of North Pole, Alaska, all perished last week when the 1996 Bell 206 helicopter they were in crashed into a lake while they were on a scientific mission.
The three passengers were employees of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources, working in the Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys.
Alaska search and rescue divers recovered the bodies of a helicopter pilot and three scientists on Sunday from the sunken wreckage of the aircraft, which went down in a shallow lake about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Utqiagvik — the northernmost city in the U.S., formerly known as Barrow. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.
Daanen, a native of the Netherlands, had an ever-present smile and was also known as MacGyver because he could instantly fix anything that went wrong, whether it was repairing a generator or fixing a broken tent pole, colleagues said.
“He’s such a good-natured guy, he’s kind, he’s caring, he’s good humored,” said Howie Epstein, a professor in environmental sciences at the University of Virginia. During summer field work, they studied permafrost and changes in Arctic tundra in Canada, Alaska and Siberia.
When working on the North Slope, Daanen brought his homemade gin flavored with spruce tips, which Epstein said was “delicious.” On a tiny island in Siberia, Daanen walked in with a chunk of gouda cheese the size of a curling stone, which they ate from at every meal for a week.
Daanen and his wife, Ina Timling, also competed in the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks. They created elaborate ice sculptures that usually had a science theme, using it as an educational opportunity to teach people about permafrost and Arctic landscapes, said Anna Liljedahl, an associate scientist with the Woodwell Climate Research Center and an affiliate professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“We’ve lost an amazing friend and colleague,” she said of Daanen, who was a geologist for the state.
Permafrost, frozen ground and water were key components of his work, but she said he was a brilliant scientist who had wide and varied interests.
Germann was a state hydrologist with degrees from the University of North Dakota. He paid his way through college by joining the North Dakota National Guard and had to have his parents sign off because he was just a few months shy of his 18th birthday when he joined.
“He’s determined, a young man who chased his dream and accomplished a lot in his life,” his mother Karla said.
He completed an internship in Alaska and immediately made plans to return.
“I don’t think he was ever coming back to southwest North Dakota. That was his dream to be there and kayak and just hike and ride a bike in the snow, which is beyond crazy to me,” she said with a chuckle.
The family had planned to visit Germann in Alaska in September but instead will travel this week to Fairbanks, where they are planning an informal memorial. His mother has been comforted by her son’s Alaska friends, who reached out to his family after his death.
“He had a lot of amazing friends up there, and we can’t wait to meet them,” she said.
Moore was a 2019 graduate from Indiana with a degree in geological and earth sciences. She wrote on her LinkedIn page that she was “interested in biogeochemistry, planetary science, environmental science.”
Her family declined to comment on her death.
Higdon became a full-time pilot in November, going to work for Maritime Helicopters. He had over 2,000 hours combined while flying Bell 206, Bell 407 and Eurocopter EC145 helicopters.
In a statement, the company praised Higdon: “We all knew Tony as the consummate professional and a skilled pilot. He will be greatly missed.”
He previously worked in different capacities at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks after serving more than 13 years as a military police officer with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Higdon’s family were unsuccessful.
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