A Homer pilot and passenger from Anchorage died Monday in a plane crash near the Kenai Peninsula community of Nanwalek, after investigators say a landing attempt was aborted due to a dog on the runway.
The commercial flight operated by Homer-based Smokey Bay Air had been headed from Homer to Nanwalek at the time of the crash, said Clint Johnson, Alaska chief of the National Transportation Safety Board.
"Witnesses on the ground as well as another airplane in trail indicated that while the airplane was on approach to Nanwalek, there was apparently a dog that was on the runway,” Johnson said. “It appears that the pilot initiated a go-around, and during that go-around there was a loss of control.”
Johnson said the Cessna 207 didn’t touch down on the initial approach, and the dog wasn’t struck.
The plane crashed in a tide-line area near the north end of Nanwalek's runway.
Alaska State Troopers identified the two people killed as pilot Daniel Bunker, 48, and passenger Jenny Irene Miller, 37.
Miller was a well-known Inupiaq artist and photographer originally from Nome, who was also celebrated as a role model and mentor for LGBTQ+ and two-spirit youth. Bunker is survived by his wife and their two sons, and remembered as a kind and skilled pilot.
Another passenger who has not been publicly identified was seriously injured in the crash and was transported to an Anchorage hospital.
Residents respond
The crash happened around 2 p.m. Monday. Troopers reported receiving multiple 911 calls. As they responded by helicopter with an NTSB investigator, many local residents headed to the crash site to help, Johnson said. The first responders included the local school principal and staff, according to the superintendent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Clayton Holland.
“Our principal and staff were involved with the immediate response to the wreck and we are thankful to them and all the other community members who responded to provide aide,” Holland said in a text message.
Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said residents found the plane on a beach near the runway. The plane wasn't submerged at the time of the wreck.
"They were able to get one male passenger out of the aircraft, bringing him to the medical clinic where he received medical treatment," McDaniel said.
Locals tried to provide lifesaving care for Bunker and Miller, McDaniel said, but the two were declared dead at the scene.
Along with troopers and the NTSB, numerous other agencies also responded to the crash, including Guardian Flight, LifeMed, Maritime Helicopters, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Alaska State Park Rangers.
Remembering lives lost
Condolences poured in Tuesday for those impacted by the crash.
Holland, the Kenai Peninsula superintendent, said the crash is a tragedy for the entire Nanwalek community and Homer as well, and offered his thoughts and prayers for all involved.
Nanwalek is roughly 25 miles southwest of Homer and only reachable by boat or plane. It has about 240 residents.
in an online video from earlier this year, pilot Daniel Bunker said he regularly flew to three remote villages, describing it as a rewarding job and a way to connect the residents there to the mainland. Smokey Bay Air ran regular flights to Nanwalek, Port Graham and Seldovia.
"We are deeply saddened by the tragic plane crash involving Smokey Bay Air, and we mourn the loss of Daniel Bunker — a skilled pilot and kind soul who served our communities with dedication," said an online post from Seldovia Village Tribe.
In a statement, staff and board members with the nonprofit Native Movement mourned Jenny Irene Miller’s sudden passing, describing her as a wonderful friend, a kind human and a true luminary. Miller was a board member at the nonprofit.
"Jenny was such a bright and kind human doing good work for the world, a good friend who always reminded me to be thoughtful of others and caring even when it's hard to be,” said fellow board member and friend Tikaan Galbreath. “Every time I had the chance to be with her, it felt like the simple joys were more clearly present and laughter was easy to find. I'll sorely miss her friendship."
Miller’s work has been displayed across the country and the globe.
"It was easy to love Jenny,” said Misty Nickoli. “I felt peace in her presence. Which is a hard thing to accomplish in the work and lives that we live. She always made me feel special and beautiful. She always made room for kindness. My heart is with her wife, family and our community."
A challenging runway
Johnson, with the NTSB, said crews were working Tuesday to recover the plane before waters rose.
“Obviously we want to get it out of there as soon as possible,” Johnson said. “We don't want to risk losing the wreckage.”
The NTSB plans to transport the plane to Anchorage or Wasilla for a close inspection of the aircraft and its contents, as it continues to investigate what caused the crash.
Johnson said that animals on runways in rural Alaska have been reported to the NTSB before. But, he said, Monday’s incident is the first he can recall in which one has been a potential factor in a fatal crash.
"(In) Bush operations, you do see this," Johnson said. "And animals, whether it's a dog or a moose or whatever, obviously that's going to be a peril that you have to contend with."
The NTSB has previously visited Nanwalek, which has an 1,850-foot curved runway with frequent high winds.
According to an NTSB report, the same aircraft that crashed Monday had a rough landing there during a Smokey Bay Air flight in August 2016. The pilot and sole occupant, who was unhurt, reported encountering "a pretty rapid shift in the winds in both direction and velocity" just before touchdown. The plane bounced, touched down again, then overran the end of the runway, damaging its propeller and a wing.
Smokey Bay Air could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The NTSB is asking anyone who witnessed the crash and has not already spoken with investigators to contact them by email at witness@ntsb.gov.
KDLL’s Ashlyn O’Hara contributed to this report.
