Five killed in plane collision

April 25, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Five people. Including three children, died in a mid-air plane collision about noon Sunday above the Palmer Hay Flats, according to a report from the Alaska State Troopers.

According to the report, pilot David Beauregard, 45, of Wasilla, was flying a 1955 Cessna 170 B, four-seat airplane. With him in the plane were his three children, Ryan Beauregard, 16, Conner Beauregard, 13, and Remi Beauregard, 9.

William Smoke, 55, of Chugiak, flew the other plane, a Cessna 172, the report said. He had no passengers.

The planes hit the ground near Mile 1.3 Hayfield Road south of Wasilla.

When reports of the crash came in to Central Mat-Su Fire Department, they sent a paramedic in on a borrowed four-wheeler, according to Jack Krill, department chief.

&#8220We sent a paramedic in to assess the situation, who confirmed there were no survivors,” Krill said. &#8220We kept people away from the site, assisted the NTSB and removed the bodies all by four wheelers. It was a little over a mile by trail.”

According to Clint Johnson, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, all eye-witness accounts of the crash are consistent.

Beauregard's tail-dragger was flying northbound and Smoke's nose-wheel airplane was heading south or southwest, he said.

Although that airspace is a non-radar area, and neither pilot was on radar services, the NTSB is working with Anchorage Control to see if they might have captured the event, Johnson said.

Both planes were out of airspace where they would be required to radio traffic advisories.

Both men were experienced pilots. Smoke was Regional Aviation Safety Manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Beauregard was a captain with Alaska Airlines.

&#8220Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and family,” said Amanda Tobin, spokeswoman for Alaska Airlines. &#8220I can share that all of us are shocked and deeply saddened by this terrible loss.”

Tobin said that Beauregard had been with Alaska Airlines for almost 10 years - his 10th anniversary would have been in June - and he had logged more than 11,500 commercial and military hours as a pilot. Beauregard had flown for the Coast Guard and the Army, she said, and most recently, he flew a Boeing 737-400, based out of Anchorage.

&#8220David was well-respected and well-liked, not only by his fellow pilots, but by his colleagues throughout the airline,” Tobin said. &#8220We are focused on doing everything we can to support David's loved ones in this difficult time.”

While their pilots fly a variety of routes, Beauregard regularly flew to Los Angles, Portland, Phoenix, Denver and Chicago, according to Tobin.

Smoke had more than 12,000 hours flight time, according to Karen Sullivan, spokeswoman for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

&#8220Oh, boy, he was beloved in the Fish and Wildlife,” Sullivan said.

Smoke oversaw all the training for about 36 pilots and aircraft with the service, she said. He had 20 years Alaska flying experience, 13 of those with the agency, she said.

&#8220We are devastated, but our focus is on his family,” she said. &#8220We are trying to support them in every possible way.”

Smoke leaves behind a wife, two daughters and a son, according to Sullivan.

Ed Merritt, Smoke's former supervisor at Tetlin Wildlife Refuge passed on a message through Sullivan.

&#8220I can't imagine a safer, more trustworthy careful person to get in an airplane with,” she quoted Merritt as saying. &#8220No one had any hesitation about getting into an airplane with Bill. He always erred on the side of caution when making a no-fly decision.”

Sullivan acknowledged that both pilots in the deadly crash were highly experienced.

&#8220That's going to be for the NTSB to figure out,” she said.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@ frontiersman.com