Alaska pilot killed in midair crash remembered as respected flight instructor

A day after a midair plane collision killed an Alaska flight instructor, investigators began Thursday to gain a better understanding of the crash.

The body of James Poelman, 56, of Wasilla, was found in the wreckage of the small commercial plane he had been flying when it collided Wednesday with another single-engine plane west of Anchorage near the mouth of the Susitina River. Described as a highly respected flight instructor and pilot, Poelman's body was recovered that evening.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigator said Thursday that the agency is still working to remove the submerged aircraft wreckage for study. Strong tidal currents had threatened to sweep the aircraft away, he said.

The crash occurred during Alaska's busy summer aviation season in an area described by one flight instructor as "very congested."

Poelman was the only fatality. No one else was aboard his plane. The other aircraft also had only the pilot on board. On Thursday, troopers named the surviving pilot as Bruce Markwood, 53, of Anchorage.

Markwood walked away from the collision physically unharmed after making an emergency landing at Anchorage's Lake Hood. In a live feed of Lake Hood's traffic control tower, Markwood can be heard telling air traffic controllers "I'm about to lose this airplane," as they help him land on a single wheel.

Planes were nearly 'nose to nose' before impact

Poelman, the man killed in Wednesday's collision, was a skilled pilot and flight instructor, said Don Hammond, co-owner of Fly Around Alaska flight school in Palmer.

About four years ago, Poelman worked for the flight school. He was full-time at first and then continued working for the school as an independent flight instructor for about six months.

"Every time I'd see him, I'd offer him a job," Hammond said.

Poelman was known to be a cautious, conservative flyer, Hammond said.

On Wednesday, Poelman was making a commercial flight for Spernak Airways, an air carrier based out of Anchorage's Merrill Field, according to Brice Banning, National Transportation Safety Board investigator.

Poelman left Merrill Field in a Cessna 207, heading for Tyonek, Banning said. He was the only person on board. It was not immediately clear when the flight began.

Markwood's plane, a Cessna 175, was heading to Lake Hood from a fishing camp, Banning said. Banning did not know the precise location of the camp.

The first report of a crash came at 12:13 p.m., Alaska State Troopers said.

Shortly after the collision, NTSB investigator Clint Johnson told reporters that Markwood "saw the (other) airplane at the last moment, basically nose to nose."

The impact "sheared off" Markwood's left landing gear, Johnson said.

Immediately after impact, Markwood made circles around the area, trying to assess the condition of Poelman's plane, Johnson said.

Two other aircraft helped, too, Banning said Thursday. One good Samaritan landed at the site of the wreckage, where Poelman was found dead. A second pilot followed the damaged plane back to Lake Hood.

In an audio recording of the Lake Hood air traffic control tower, Markwood can be heard telling air traffic controllers that he had been in an accident and had lost his left landing gear. Air traffic controllers helped guide him to the Lake Hood landing strip and alert emergency vehicles, according to the recording.

"I'm starting to lose this airplane, so I'm going to go right into the strip," Markwood tells air traffic controllers at one point. But Markwood then regains some control, saying that he has dealt with the vibration and is feeling OK.

He lands safely shortly afterward. A bystander caught the landing on video.

Lt. Douglas Holler with Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Police and Fire said that he was on scene when Markwood landed at Lake Hood.

Holler watched as he landed the wounded plane. "He did a belly slide, basically, and came to a stop without flipping or anything," Holler said. Markwood was able to get himself out of the aircraft, Holler said.

Reached by phone Thursday, Markwood's wife said he was talking to investigators and not available for an interview.

'He left his mark'

The area where the crash occurred — west of Anchorage, near the mouth of the Susitna — is "very congested," Hammond said. He said he had just flown through the area a few days prior. In the summertime, lots of people are out in their planes, flying low, looking for moose hunting locations or salmon fishing spots, he said.

Midair collisions can happen in a flash, Hammond said.

The wrecked Cessna 207 was still submerged in the Susitna River on Thursday, near where the mouth empties into Knik Arm. Banning said Spernak Airways was working with its insurance carrier to retrieve the aircraft.

Banning said the plane would be recovered "as soon as possible."

Investigators were working with an Air Traffic Control investigator out of Washington, D.C., who was providing Banning with radar data, communication, and the radio frequencies both planes were using.

Banning said investigators were looking into the possible factors that may have contributed to the crash. "Did the weather play any part? The sun? Were there any obstructions?" Banning said.

A preliminary report on the crash would be issued in about a week. The full and final report usually takes about a year, Banning said.

At the Palmer flight school Thursday, Hammond said former students had been stopping by to share stories about Poelman.

"(Poelman) was more about really working with people to help them realize their dream of becoming a pilot. And it wasn't about the money for him, which is rare," Hammond said.

"He left his mark in aviation, there's no doubt about that," Hammond said.