Alaska Man Monday - Possible Disaster Averted, and an Infamous Scoundrel

It’s been an interesting week. Just as we’ve had a warmer-than-usual winter, we’re having a warm, sunny spring, so far at least. Some folks are worried about the record-low snowfall and a dry spring leading to increased fire danger this summer, and that’s a legitimate concern. On the other hand, a warm, dry spring is good for the spruce grouse crop, and sprucies taken in early fall, before they start eating spruce needles, are delicious.

I like grouse hunting. I can shoot a grouse, put it in the game bag, and go find more. Moose? Not so much.

We did have one situation this week that could have been a disaster but ended up all right. Down on the Kenai Peninsula, a possible disaster had a happy ending.

KSRM News reports that the family of those aboard a missing plane on the Kenai Peninsula says it has received a report that the plane was spotted on a frozen lake, with people walking around it.
The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser was reported missing Sunday night; the US Coast Guard launched a search at daybreak on Monday in the area around Tustemena Lake.
A friend of the family says that the plane went through the ice.
“Earlier this morning, a good samaritan aircraft located the plane wreckage near the eastern side of Tustemena Lake. At approximately 10:30 am, the Alaska Army National Guard rescued the adult male pilot and two juvenile passengers from the plane. The three persons were taken to a Kenai Peninsula area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The Alaska State Troopers would like to thank the Alaska Army National Guard, US Coast Guard, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, and the good samaritan aircraft that assisted with this operation,” Trooper said in a statement.

The NTSB looked into the incident, and their report came quickly.

On Sunday night, Alaska State Troopers were reported of an overdue Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser containing a pilot and two passengers. The pilot, John Morris Jr., and his two juvenile daughters were rescued roughly 12 hours later by the Alaska National Guard after being found by a good Samaritan on Tustumena Lake.
On Thursday morning, the NTSB told Alaska’s News Source that it was no longer investigating the incident, citing that it did not meet the needed threshold for the agency to continue its investigation.
The NTSB added that the incident did not cause significant damage to the aircraft or major injuries to allow them to continue operating an investigation. Morris and his two daughters were taken to a Kenai Peninsula area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries at the time.
However, according to the Associated Press, Morris failed to report the incident within the required 24-hour window. Additionally, U.S. official and federal aviation records indicate that Morris was a student pilot and was not allowed to fly with passengers.

Well, that’s not good. It’s unclear at this point as to whether there will be any legal consequences for Morris, but he and his daughters are OK, and that’s good news regardless. These things, after all, don’t always end well. Tustumena Lake, by the way, is a large lake smack in the middle of the Kenai Peninsula - not easy to access by ground. It's either air or up the Kasilov River.

Confirmed: No Survivors in Bering Air Crash

Alaska Man score: 2.5 of 5 moose nuggets. Good that everyone’s OK – but Morris may well have endangered his daughters unnecessarily with his apparent lack of experience. It reminds one of the old saying, "There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots." This seems an enterprise where one would want to err on the side of caution.

Now, let’s talk about a fascinating episode from Alaska’s Gold Rush history involving a famous con artist – and what happened to him in the end.

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