alaska-airmens-association-152262

Advocacy With Adam, Q4 Overview

duda@neonone.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 22:09:22 GMT

Adam White, Alaska Airmen’s Association Government Affairs

We continue to work with Federal, State, and local officials on behalf of our members, ensuring Alaska Aviation remains accessible and a viable means of transportation and recreation. The following issues are just a few examples of how we work towards those goals.

Anchorage Class C Redesign

The FAA hosted two virtual public meetings to discuss the Anchorage Class C revisions on September 23rd and 24th. The deadline for public comment is October 24th.

This is the time for the public to weigh in on the proposal and offer suggestions on the design. This issue has been addressed in several recent Advocacy With Adam YouTube updates, and we will continue to discuss it on social media as we approach the deadline. For more information, visit: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/community_engagement/ataaps

Other changes to the Anchorage airspace will need to occur when the Class C changes go into effect. The Class D airspaces in the Anchorage Bowl will also change to align with the Class C, and the VFR procedures will need to be amended to interface with the new airspace. Look for a few changes to the VFR Procedures to go into effect before the Class C redesign goes live in 2027.

Beyond Visual Line of Sight for Drone Operations Rule

The FAA’s proposed rule for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for drones is available for public comment until October 6th. Our biggest concerns focus on right-of-way rules for drones and a potential backdoor ADS-B mandate. Drone will have the right-of-way over manned aircraft below 500’ AGL. It is troubling that the FAA is saying in this proposed rule that “Electronic Conspicuity” (EC) devices might be a solution for right-of-way rules. EC is a low-power, portable, and anonymous ADS-B type technology that is in use in other parts of the world. This technology has not been approved by the FAA and has been vehemently opposed by the FAA up to now. The FAA’s rationale up till now has been that they want everyone to be equipped with ADS-B out and not use an EC solution. Our comment letter will focus on this issue and a few other problems with the proposal with respect to Alaska aviation.

DOT Title 17 Review

The Governor has issued an Administrative Order to reduce state bureaucracy by 25% by 2027. Alaska DOT is asking for input on sections of the State Administrative Code and Statutes that should be reviewed pertaining to aviation. We are building a list of areas to focus on. Do you have any areas you would like to see addressed? Send your ideas to adam.white@alasakaairmen.org

YouTube Updates

Be sure to catch “Advocacy With Adam” on the third Tuesday of every month at 6 pm on YouTube for more thorough and timely updates on what the Airmen’s Association is doing to “Protect, Preserve, and Promote General Aviation in Alaska.” Go to the Advocacy Playlist on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/2r3xb5bu

If you would like more information on these topics or have any questions or comments, please get in touch with Adam White at adam.white@alaskaairmen.org or 907-245-1251. Additionally, please copy the Alaska Airmen’s Association when submitting your public comments.

A Role for Rules

duda@neonone.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 22:07:46 GMT

By Bernie Willis

A highly experienced, respected and accomplished European aviator said to me,

“Rules are for fools, but a guide for wise men.” Contemplating his statement my mind bounced like a ball in a hand ball court. Try following these thoughts!

Now, rules are for our safety. When followed we stay within safe guidelines. But have you ever flown overweight? Was the examiner for your private check ride small enough to not exceed the gross weight of your C-150? Did you actually weigh that moose quarter squeezed behind the seat in your Super Cub last Fall. Did I drive 65 mph or less to Anchorage last week? Just heard of a driver in Switzerland who was caught driving 48 in a 27 MPH or KMH zone. He was fined 100,000.00 Euro’s based upon, not the extent of the violation, but upon a portion of his net worth. So far these are rules based upon man’s judgement. Some rules are based upon physics.

Discovering the rules of physics that allow flight was one of the Wrights biggest accomplishments. The acknowledged wing proportions and the effect upon lift didn’t prove correct for the brothers so they built their own wind tunnel and started over to determine what was needed to lift them and their machine. These rules have been updated ever since. Assumptions have been made about the forces in turbulence that may be uncomfortable for us but not destructive to our aircraft. Just yesterday a friend at breakfast asked about checking over his Cessna after hitting some jets wake turbulence. He was flying perpendicular to the jets approach to PANC and two thousand feet below when all of a sudden, he was slammed against his seat belt with his head against the cabin ceiling. The jet was touching down on runway15 at least 5 miles away. The horizontal “tornado” was still active. His question for the group was, “where do I look for hidden damage to my airframe?” There were several opinions, one related the story of an extended wing Cessna that had experienced similar conditions and landed with twisted wing tips. The fine print on the STC says something about a reduction in strength rating from Utility to Normal. FAA guidelines for long ferry flights allow for significant overweight take offs, but require restrictions about weather, routing and performance figures.

Oh those performance charts are confusing! Even the best charts don’t seem to cover all the circumstances we can find ourselves in. How do you figure take off performance with a tail wind on a down sloping runway? Or the opposite with a stiff head wind on an uphill runway? Light twin performance on one engine is rather dismal. What would you consider safe? A turbo twin comanche with a single engine rate of climb of 260 fpm and a single engine service ceiling of 19000 ft. Or a normally aspirated twin comanche has the same single engine rate of climb but only a 5800 ft. ceiling on one engine. For this illustration let’s imagine we’re in Denver roughly 5000 ft. in elevation with a temperature of 70 f and an altimeter setting of 30.00. Would you take off without turbos? Would you take the time to figure out the density altitude or just go for it. If you take the time to use them you’ll soon find performance charts are rather optimistic. Many manufacturers seem to be deliberately vague about what their aircraft can actually do. Aircraft certified under the Experimental Amateur Built category are even more susceptible to wide performance variations. The building and testing are not standardized. What do you know about the performance of the new four place Super Cub you’re considering building? Recently an experienced mechanic/pilot said to me as I was admiring his work, “Cub’s used to haul anything you could stick in them, but not this one, it huge in here.” His statement reminded me of the days flying a Dornier 28. It could haul 15, 55 gal drums. But only 5 of them could be full of fuel.

So what are we to do to remain safe? Perhaps to become an old pilot we should not be bold. But instead increase our performance understanding gradually. Always considering the various weather conditions that affect performance. Be wise and use the rules to keep from becoming fools.

Obvious and Logical- The Ice-Cold Case of N1812H

duda@neonone.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 22:05:33 GMT

By Jim Gibertoni by Joan Skilbred

On October 16, 1972, a Pan Alaska Airways, Ltd. flight from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska failed to make its destination and was never seen or heard

from again. The plane N1812H, a twin-engine Cessna 310C, was owned by Pan Alaska Airways LLC. The pilot was Don Jonz from Fairbanks, and his passengers were United

Congressman and House of Representatives Majority Leader Thomas Hale Boggs of Louisiana, United States Congressman Nick Begich, and his administrative assistant Russel L. Brown both of Anchorage.

I have been a Search and Rescue (SAR) Pilot flying with the Civil Air Patrol here in Fairbanks, Alaska for almost a quarter of a century, logging more than 250 SAR missions to date. What I am about to share is a robust educated guess, based on the facts, and my extensive experience in search and rescue.

It is important to note here that Don Jonz submitted an article he wrote to Flying Magazine a few weeks prior to the fateful flight that was called “Ice Without Fear.”

This article was published in the October 1972 edition of the magazine.

The NTSB Accident Report in an unprecedented move, gave a full paragraph about the magazine article: “…it may be noted that previously he (Jonz) had authored several articles on the subject of flying under comparable adverse weather conditions. The article, among other things, advised pilots to be prepared for the situations that were likely to be encountered. For instance, he advocated that one always maintains: (1) a mental picture of the weather ahead, (2) a reserve of altitude, (3) extra fuel, and (4) an alternate course of action. He advised against flying into obviously bad situations, such as dark areas or precipitation when the outside temperature was in the critical icing range. To avoid icing he recommended that a doublecheck be made of the survival equipment aboard the aircraft and that the proper winter clothing be worn by all occupants of the aircraft1.”

Focusing on the NTSB report and the “Ice Without Fear” article, we can gain some new insights into what might have really happened. Clearly in this case there is no way any of us are going to have entire certainty as to the full details of what happened to N1812H, but we can follow the information trail and possibly locate the crash site.

On October 15, 1972, the day prior to the loss of N1812H, Fairbanks pilot Don Jonz of Pan Alaska Airways, accepts a call requesting a flight to haul two United States Congressmen and an aide, from Anchorage to Juneau. Jonz is a commercial pilot, and this is a real opportunity for his aviation business. If he accepts this request, it will no doubt lead to further business opportunities for him. His plane had just come out of its annual inspection2, so it was up for the task.

The NTSB report states a witness said Jonz agreed to the request. He would also be flying the passengers without getting paid3. This means the flight from Anchorage to Juneau will be classified under part 91 of the FAA flight regulations4. He left Fairbanks International Airport at 5:58 pm for Anchorage where he arrived at 7:40 pm and spent the night. That flight was uneventful.

The next morning at 6:56 am on October 16th, Jonz called Anchorage Flight Services (FSS) for a routine weather briefing. He requested to be briefed on Juneau, Sitka, Yakutat and Cordova weather. He stated at that time that he would be flying a Cessna 310 under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to Juneau5. It is important to note here that he did not ask for the weather briefing for Portage Pass at this time. However, he was told that Portage Pass was closed as part of that briefing6.

The National Weather Service’s surface weather chart that day compiled by the Anchorage Office showed “a warm front extending eastward from a point near Iliamna to a point about 50 miles south-southeast of Yakataga. A high-pressure system was entered off the coast of southeastern Alaska7.”

“The surface weather conditions as reported on the 0600 sequence reports were, in part, as follows for the stations indicated: (1) Cordova – ceiling measured 2,500 feet broken, 5,000 feet overcast, visibility 7 miles; (2) Yakutat – 300 feet scattered, ceiling measured 700 feet overcast , visibility 1 ½ miles in fog; (3) Juneau – ceiling indefinite 500 feet obscured, one-half mile in fog; and (4) Sitka – clear, visibility 12 miles8.”

The NTSB Report states on pages 4 and 5: “The later surface weather observations for the stations and times indicated were, in part, as follows: (1) Anchorage – 0900 – 4,000 feet scattered, ceiling estimated 6,000 feet broken, 8,000 feet overcast with 30 miles visibility, temperature 40° F., dew point 37° F., wind 300° at 8 knots; (2) Seward – 1000 – ceiling estimated 4,000 feet overcast, visibility 7 miles in very light drizzle, temperature 52° F., dew point 45° F., wind 200° at 28 knots with gusts to 33 knots, visibility 3 miles in northeast one-half; (3) Cordova – 1000 – ceiling measured 3,500 feet broken, 5,000 feet overcast with 7 miles visibility in light rain, temperature 47° F., wind 090° at 11 knots; (4) Yakutat – 1100 – 400 feet scattered, 2,000 feet scattered, ceiling estimated 4,800 feet broken, 20,000 feet overcast, visibility 20 miles, temperature 44° F., dew point 42° F., wind 060° at 6 knots; (5) Juneau – 1200 – ceiling estimated 600 feet overcast, visibility 4 miles in fog, temperature 41° F., dew point 38° F., wind calm; and (6) Juneau – 1300 – 700 feet scattered, ceiling estimated 20,000 feet overcast, visibility 12 miles, temperature 43° F., dew point 39° F., wind calm.” The NTSB report also contains further weather information at the end of the report as an attachment.

The only icing on the forecast was “moderate rime icing conditions forecast to exist in clouds from 6,000 to 15,000 feet over the Cook Inlet area9.”

The supplemental weather attachment in the NTSB report gives more details, “Cook Inlet, moderate to locally severe turbulence with strong winds, showers, and strong updrafts and downdrafts10.” There is also a footnote with that entry that states “An advisory concerning weather of such severity as to be potentially hazardous to all categories of aircraft.”

Most of that morning was routine as far as getting ready for a flight goes. After receiving the weather briefing and filing his flight plan, he fueled the plane up at 8:00 am. He had wingtip tanks for extended range which were topped off, giving him 6 hours’ worth of fuel for the trip11.

In the NTSB accident report, there is a mention of a USAF helicopter that was enroute from Elmendorf to Seward12. The intended route was to fly along Turnagain Arm to Portage, then south along the railroad tracks to Seward. “The pilot stated he encountered moderate to severe turbulence at 500 feet m. s. l., headwinds of 55 knots, and broken to overcast cloud conditions 200 to 300 feet above him. He could see Portage, but the forward visibility was deteriorating. Due to the turbulence, he abandoned his attempt to reach Portage and took an alternate route via Sunrise and the highway south towards Seward.”

Around the time he got his passengers loaded, Jonz no doubt heard the radio transmission from a helicopter stating that they were flying over Sunrise rather than Portage.

Don Jonz was a very experienced commercial pilot, and of course would not fly into weather conditions that closed the pass. Nobody in their right mind was going to fly through Portage Pass on that day. However, the weather further down the Kenai Peninsula towards Seward was acceptable for VFR flying with temperatures in the 50’s.

If the flight plan was the Anchorage to Seward route, he could then fly over Middleton Island, which at that time was a federal facility with a lot of intelligence capabilities related to the cold war and the Vietnam war. Flying the Congressional Majority Leader over that facility would be a big deal. Also, on that day he would have a strong tail wind after leaving Seward which would enable him to breeze right into Juneau by crossing the Gulf of Alaska.

The Seward route is also likely because he had a lot of extra fuel on board, almost twice what would have been needed for the Portage Pass route.

N1812H took off from the Anchorage International Airport at 8:55 am on the morning of October 16th. Air Traffic Control (ATC) recorded the last sighting of the plane being 2 miles out from the airport on a southeasterly heading at 2000 feet, at 9:00 am13. This record is critical, because it was part of the controller’s job to record that information using binoculars for every single flight. The entry by ATC is an official record of fact as to the last time N1812H was seen.

As a SAR mission pilot and team member, we look at that official record as a “stake in the ground.” It is the important last sighting of the aircraft that points the SAR operations in the right direction. We need to look very carefully at that entry. The direction southeasterly is a 130° heading which takes you to Sunrise. The Portage direction would have been a heading of 090°, a directional disparity of about 40°.

N1812H was last heard from 9 minutes later, when Jonz made routine radio contact with Anchorage Flight Services14. He stated there were four souls on board, they had six hours of fuel, and when asked if they had emergency gear on board, Jonz replied “affirmative.” The report states he filed the VFR flight plan was the V-317 Airway through Portage Pass. At the time of that last radio communication Jonz also received an updated weather report. That was the last time anyone heard from N1812H.

There is an anomaly in the NTSB Report regarding this last radio communication. Usually, the pilot will file the flight plan prior to takeoff. During the last radio communication, nine minutes into the flight, the pilot would have been busy, gaining altitude, watching for other air traffic and getting headed towards the intended course of flight. That is also the time when a pilot will usually activate the flight plan, which would have been previously filed with FSS at the time of the pre-flight weather briefing. It does not make sense for Jonz to file a flight plan after takeoff, much less a plan for a route that he knew was closed for VFR flight.

I suspect this bit about the filing of the flight on his last communication was assumed by the FSS operator, and later was mistakenly put into the report as a finding of fact. Most likely it was a result of the chaos and pressure from investigators desperate to find the missing Congressmen.

At 1315 hours the flight was deemed overdue, and the search began with a communications check, then full blown search and rescue operations were initiated15. The massive search for the missing plane was the biggest and most expensive ever conducted in Alaska. They were gone without a trace, and after all that hard work by many very capable search and rescue specialists, and over 50 years of air traffic, recreationalists and other human activity within the search area; I can only draw one conclusion: N1812H WAS NOT IN THE SEARCH AREA.

The route through Seward and Middleton Island is located just outside of the designated search area. No search was ever conducted along that flight path. If we consider this alternate route, a new theory presents itself.

As they flew further south toward Seward, the weather began to improve, and they probably saw the grandeur of the Kenai Peninsula beneath them. Hale Boggs was from Louisiana and was an important politician on a national scale. He was here on a whirlwind campaign fundraising event to help Begich during the upcoming elections. This was a real opportunity for Begich and his aide Russel Brown to show Boggs the greatness of Alaska, which we purchased from Russia for two cents an acre.

The view along their route looking southwest, included the Harding Ice Field, which is the largest ice field in the United States. It is comprised of more than 40 glaciers and encompasses an expanse of 700 square miles. It is also named after United States President Warren G. Harding.

The allure of the Harding Ice Field was probably overpowering. Many pilots had flown over it. If Jonz took the route over the Harding, he would have a chance to make a real impression upon his important and influential passengers.

Commercial pilots are trained not to be distracted in the cockpit. The problem is that opportunity was knocking, the pressure on Jonz to deviate from his intended route must have been intense. We have all felt that kind of pressure, what would you have done? Say “no way” to the U. S. House Majority Leader? It would be so easy to fly up either one of the Skilak Glacier fingers across the vast expanse of the ice field and down the Bear Glacier into Seward. That is the obvious and logical route that most pilots would take to see what is up there. He had plenty of fuel, the passengers were excited, so why not?

The next radio check would naturally occur when they would begin exiting the ice field via Bear Glacier, checking in with Seward then continuing the flight to Middleton Island. But that never happened. If the plane had gone down anywhere else along that Anchorage-Seward route, it would have been found by now. I strongly feel the most likely place it went down was somewhere on the Harding Ice Field or one of its associated glaciers.

I have considerable experience flying SAR missions over glaciers and ice fields. The Harding Ice Field has its own weather due to the massive amount of ice. Altimeters don’t always read accurately over these mammoth ice sheets and if the ceiling drops, you can suffer from spatial disorientation.

I cannot deduce what exactly happened to the plane, but it is obvious and logical that whatever happened was sudden and catastrophic because there was no call for help, and no other signal from the plane. If they had mechanical trouble, a call would have been made; if they were in severe icing, a call would have been made; if there was a disturbance or medical emergency inside the fuselage, a call would have been made.

What about an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)? At that time, they were not required by the FAA, but Alaska law required them as of September 6, 197216. That was one month prior to the fatal flight. In this case it is hard to say if that makes a difference or not. Back then ELT’s worked maybe ½ of the time. If you go down in a glacier crevasse, an ELT won’t help you at all.

The Harding Ice Field has chaotic terrain concealed by a mantle of blowing and shifting snow across its surface. The glaciers are rippled with deep crevasses between steep mountain walls. The numerous terrain related hazards coupled with unpredictable weather changes make for higher risks of sudden catastrophic events when flying over it.

Another scenario for consideration would be a bird strike. If they hit a bird while ascending the glacier, it could cause loss of control of the aircraft.

So now what? If N1812H is in the Harding Ice Field or one of its glaciers, entombed in tons of ice and snow, how would we find it? Amazingly enough, there are existing examples of recent recovery operations of long-lost aircraft and passengers from glacial environments.

On November 22, 1952, an Air Force C-124 crashed with 52 personnel on board and was never heard from again. It went down on the Colony Glacier near Palmer, Alaska and then due to melting reappeared in 2012. Since that date most of the crash victims have been recovered and returned to their respective families17.”

There have been a couple of planes recovered in the Swiss Alps that had been entombed in glaciers for many years. The melting back of these glaciers in recent years has exposed these old wrecks.

How would you recover N1812H in the Harding Ice Field? It can be done; in fact, it has already been done on another even bigger ice field in Greenland. A group of pilots and aviation enthusiasts recovered a World War II P-38 Lightning plane from the ice after many years of entombment.

The loss of N1812H and its passengers on October 16, 1972, has haunted us long enough. We need to stop chasing our tails by clinging to the ridiculous notion that they flew through Portage Pass on the V-317 Airway on the fateful day. It is time to give some respect to Don Jonz for the experienced pilot he was, and to conduct a new search around the Harding Ice Field.

Obviously, we have the technology to do it, the logical question is when are we going to attempt to use that technology to locate N1812H?

Commemorative Air Force Alaska

duda@neonone.com — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 21:55:04 GMT

By Regan Tunstall & Wella Marie

Are you interested in learning more about the Alaska warbirds? The Commemorative Air Force Alaska Wing, founded by World War 2 Veteran Colonel Howard “Mike” Hunt, strives to uphold their mission of restoring and preserving combat aircraft in the US.

Col. Hunt started the Alaska chapter in the late 1990s with a large donation of a yellow Harvard MK IV, and later donated two more warbirds to the wing. He was actively involved by recruiting passionate members and sharing his love for these birds until his passing in 2019. You can learn more about Col. Hunts story and the history of the CAF Alaska Wing here: https://www.cafalaska.org/our-story

Last Thursday, the CAF hosted a fundraising event led by Mikayla Taylor, called ‘puzzles for props’. We successfully raised $460 by having a timed puzzle competition open to the public where participants were able to take home their puzzle. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who participated and supported this event! We hope to continue sharing Col. Hunts passion and knowledge for these birds for years to come.