Knik Glacier Helicopter Crash

On Saturday, March 27, 2021, the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge called and reported an overdue helicopter and the possible crash debris in the area of Knik Glacier to the Alaska State Troopers. When the Alaska Rescue team arrived at the crash site they found five of the six passengers were deceased. The sole survivor was taken to the hospital and he is believe to be stable but still in critical condition.

The pilot along with two ski guides and their guest were on a heli-ski excursion at the time of the accident. They were on board the helicopter Airbus AS350B3 that is owned by Soloy Helicopters out of Wasilla.

According to reports, the deceased were Gregory Harms (52) from Colorado, Petr Kellner(56) and Benjamin Larochaix (50) from Czech Republic, Sean McManamy (38) from Girdwood and the pilot Zachary Russell (33) from Anchorage.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The Knik Glacier is well off the road system and accessible only by air, river boat or ATV. One of our aviation accident attorneys, Douglas Johnson, has spent an extensive amount of time on and around the Knik Glacier and surrounding Knik river area, and is very familiar with the dangers of air and water access to the Glacier and surrounding mountains.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the passengers in this accident and their families.

If you would like to learn more about your rights, please call our office. Our attorneys are experienced in handling wrongful death and serious injury claims arising from aviation accidents all across the state of Alaska.