Richest Czech man among 5 killed in Alaska helicopter crash

PTI, Mar 29, 2021, 4:00 PM IST

Anchorage (US): A contracted helicopter carrying guides and guests from a lodge on a heli-skiing trip in Alaska”s backcountry crashed, killing the pilot and four others, including the Czech Republic’s richest man.

The only other person on board was in serious condition but stable on Sunday at an Anchorage hospital, Alaska State Troopers said.

The five killed in the Saturday accident were identified as Petr Kellner, 56, and Benjamin Larochaix, 50, both of the Czech Republic; Gregory Harms, 52, of Colorado; and two Alaskans, Sean McMannany, 38, of Girdwood, and the pilot, Zachary Russel, 33, of Anchorage, troopers said Sunday.

The five passengers included three guests and two guides from Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, said company spokesperson Mary Ann Pruitt.

Kellner was a businessman with a net worth of over $17 billion, according to the Forbes 2020 list of the world’s richest people.

Kellner owned a 98.93% stake in the PPF Group, an international investment company. The group operates in 25 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America with assets amounting to $52 billion (44 billion euros). PPF Group confirmed Kellner”s death.

Kellner and Larochaix “were loyal and frequent” guests at the lodge, Pruitt said in an email to the Associated Press.

Harms was a pioneering heli-ski guide in Alaska and worked for many years at the lodge, Pruitt said. “Greg was one of the most experienced guides in the business,” she said. He also founded a heli-ski company that led trips across the world.

McMannany had been a guide for over 10 years, and was with the lodge for the last five, she said. He was also an avalanche instructor and an experienced mountain guide on Denali, North America”s tallest peak.

Russel was a pilot for Soloy Helicopters, a Wasilla-based company that is contracted by the lodge to provide transportation, Pruitt said.

“This news is devastating to our staff, the community in which we operate, and the families of the deceased,” a statement released by the lodge said.

The Eurocopter AS50 crashed under unknown circumstances about 50 miles (80 km) east of Anchorage at 6:35 pm Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday. Authorities said the crash site was near Knik Glacier.

The lodge is located about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Anchorage, on Judd Lake. The company website bills itself as the longest operating heli-skiing lodge in Alaska, promising deep powder, pristine runs on some of the best mountain terrain in the world. “An unparalleled alpine adventure is only a helicopter ride away,” the website says. Packages start at $15,000 per person.

The statement from the lodge said this was the first time in its 17 years in business “we’ve had to face an event of this measure.”

Soloy Helicopters has a fleet of 19 helicopters providing charter services primarily in Alaska.

Its website says it provides support to government and industry, specializing in work for seismic oil drilling exploration programs. Soloy Helicopters did not immediately respond to an email to The Associated Press seeking comment Sunday.

Alaska State Troopers said in a statement Sunday that they received a report of an overdue helicopter and the location of possible crash debris Saturday night.

A rescue team from Alaska Rescue Coordination Centre was dispatched to the crash site in the area of Knik Glacier just after 10 pm, troopers wrote. The team arrived to find five occupants dead and a sole survivor, who was taken to a hospital.

The Alaska Army National Guard and volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group recovered the bodies from the crash site Sunday and turned them over to the state medical examiner.

A temporary flight restriction placed over the glacier has been lifted, troopers said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the case of the crash.