A federal accident report sheds new light after the publisher of Alaska’s largest newspaper crashed her airplane in an aborted landing last weekend.
A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released Friday says Alaska Dispatch News publisher Alice Rogoff was able to free herself from her partially submerged and sinking airplane after it dove nose-first into the waters in Halibut Cove after clipping a stand of trees.
Rescuers reached the 64-year-old Rogoff within moments of the July 3 accident. She walked away uninjured.
Preliminary reports are factual in nature and draw no conclusions as to the cause of a crash. A final report is expected in about four months.
Rogoff has not spoken with NTSB investigators about the crash, and isn’t required to do so. She must, however, file a written report within 10 days of the crash.
Friday’s preliminary report says the aborted landing came on calm, glassy water in Halibut Cove. Cole says glassy water landings are a challenge for any seaplane pilot.
Rogoff’s attorney, Brent Cole, tells The Associated Press that Rogoff is doing fine and that the crash landing in Halibut Cove would have been a traumatic event for anyone, and she’s no different.
