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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A contracted helicopter carrying guides and guests from a lodge on a heliskiing trip through the Alaskan backcountry has crashed, killing the pilot and four others, including the richest man in the Czech Republic.
The only other person on board was in serious but stable condition Sunday at an Anchorage hospital, Alaska State Troopers said.
The five killed in Saturday’s crash were identified as Petr Kellner, 56, and Benjamin Larochaix, 50, both from the Czech Republic; Gregory Harms, 52, of Colorado; and two Alaskans, Sean McMannany, 38, of Girdwood, and pilot, Zachary Russel, 33, from Anchorage, soldiers said on Sunday.
The five passengers included three guests and two guides from Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, company spokeswoman Mary Ann Pruitt said.
Kellner was a businessman with a net worth of over $ 17 billion, according to the Forbes 2020 list of the richest people in the world.
Kellner held a 98.93% stake in the PPF Group, an international investment company. The group is present in 25 countries in Europe, Asia and North America with assets of 52 billion dollars (44 billion euros). The PPF group has confirmed Kellner’s death.
Kellner and Larochaix “were loyal and frequent guests” at the lodge, Pruitt said in an email to The Associated Press.
Harms was a pioneer heli-skiing guide in Alaska and worked at the lodge for many years, Pruitt said. “Greg was one of the most experienced guides in the business,” she said. He also founded a heli-skiing business that has taken trips around the world.
McMannany had been a guide for over 10 years and had been with the lodge for the past five years, she said. He was also an avalanche instructor and experienced mountain guide on Denali, the highest peak in North America.
Russel was a pilot for Soloy Helicopters, a Wasilla-based company that is hired by the lodge to provide transport, said Pruitt.
“This news is devastating for our staff, the community in which we operate and the families of the deceased,” said a statement released by the lodge.
The Eurocopter AS50 crashed under unknown circumstances about 80 kilometers east of Anchorage at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Sunday. Authorities said the crash site was near the Knik Glacier.
The lodge is located approximately 60 miles northwest of Anchorage on Lake Judd. The company’s website bills itself as the oldest operating heli-skiing lodge in Alaska, promising deep, pristine powder runs on some of the best mountain terrain in the world. “An unprecedented alpine adventure is just a helicopter ride away,” the website says. Packages start at $ 15,000 per person.
The lodge statement said it was the first time in 17 years in business: “We have had to deal with an event of this magnitude.”
Soloy Helicopters has a fleet of 19 helicopters providing charter services mainly in Alaska.
Its website says it provides support to government and industry, specializing in working for seismic oil drilling exploration programs. Soloy Helicopters did not immediately respond to an email to The Associated Press for comment on Sunday.
Alaska state soldiers said in a statement Sunday that they received a report of a late helicopter and the location of possible crash debris on Saturday night.
A rescue team from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was dispatched to the crash site in the Knik Glacier area just after 10 p.m., soldiers wrote. The team arrived to find five dead occupants and only one survivor, who was taken to hospital.
On Sunday, the Alaska Army National Guard and volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group recovered the bodies from the crash site and turned them over to the state forensic pathologist.
A temporary flight restriction placed over the glacier has been lifted, soldiers said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash case.
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