No blame for young crash survivor

To the editor:

Quinn Ellington, the young man who survived the tragic helicopter crash near the Glenn Highway in 2008, doesn’t deserve blame for the accident. News reports and articles in the paper have said he told his mother repeatedly that he was responsible for the crash.

I’ve flown as a passenger in helicopters over many years as a surveyor and know that it is the pilot’s responsibility to make sure all luggage is stowed in a secure location. If indeed Quinn’s day pack inadvertently changed the position of the fuel flow control lever, it was due to the pilot’s lax oversight by allowing it to be were it was to begin with. The pilot is the captain of the aircraft, and his most important obligation is the safety of his passengers — period.

Bill McCreary

Palmer