Flying the Alaska Wilderness

Prepare for the Unexpected

by William Pass

People fly across the Mojave Desert, to the Bahamas, and to the southern tip of Baja California. But any time you bring up flying in Alaska, people look at you like your landing gear didn’t extend. Maybe TV shows like “Flying Wild Alaska” and “Ice Pilots NWT” contribute to that fear. Flying in Alaska can be as fun and safe as in other remote areas as long as you haven’t lost your common sense. As a contract pilot, I’ve flown turboprops in all corners of the world, including Alaska.

In case you intend to fly your own airplane from the lower 48, then you will have a great training run ahead: the route across Canada, which is mostly as remote as Alaska. If you fly to Alaska commercially and rent an aircraft there, your first level of survival training should be your checkout flight with a professional flight instructor. Your instructors are local pilots and a treasure chest of valuable information. Reserve a whole day and glean as much of their knowledge as you can.

All cross-country flights require solid planning, especially in Alaska. Allow your first flight plans to be crosschecked by a local pilot or flight instructor. What looks like a simple route to you might be a shortcut to hell and you didn’t even see it coming.

Survival Kit

Under some conditions, FAR 91.323 allows a 15 percent increase in maximum gross weight in Alaska. The unofficial reason could be Alaska’s survival gear requirements. I believe in carrying the required gear for Part 91 flights. Plus I wear a float survival vest, since most of my gear will probably sink to the bottom of a 300-foot-deep lake. But the ugly truth is that many pilots and air taxi operators violate the Alaska statute during their daily operations, due to weight and cost of the survival gear.

Even a 15-minute flight in Alaska can result in an extended stay in the bush, so always bring survival equipment unless you know for sure the required gear is provided with your aircraft (and is actually usable). Prepared Pilot specializes in aviation survival gear, 801-455-5271, www.preparedpilot.com. Sporty’s also has a reasonable starter kit for about $70, www.sportys.com/PilotShop/ product/13080. In Alaska, local stores like Northern Lights Avionics in Anchorage at Merrill Field carry their own line, www.northernlightsavionics.com.

A few years ago, the official equipment list required a firearm; then the list only recommended one; now it is not listed at all. In case you bring a firearm, you should store the ammunition in a metal and waterproof case. In most cases, bear spray will suffice for protection and is safer to use if you’re not trained in firearm use.

You can see the Alaska statute that lists required survival gear at www.pilotgetaways.com/content/alaska-emergency-gear. Canada used to have pretty stringent regulations requiring survival gear. Then they revised the regulations, rendering them virtually undefined and ambiguous. The current version, CAR 602.61, is a fairly good guide for what may be considered acceptable, www.pglinks.net/car602. In addition to the legally required items, the following gear is an absolute must to carry:

Satellite Phone – Many of us rely on our smartphones on so many levels. In Alaska, the end of the road is also the end of reception. So you should strongly consider bringing an Iridium-compatible satellite phone. Iridium’s constellation of 66 cross-linked low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, plus seven in-orbit spares, means truly global coverage, especially close to the Earth’s poles. Many Internet stores rent satellite phones cheaply and they even come with prepaid minutes. Tip: A 911 call will be transferred to an emergency call center that then alerts the appropriate local authorities. If you carry a list of these local authorities, you could cut out the middleman.

Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) – You should carry a dual-frequency PLB with GPS. The 406 MHz signal will guide rescuers to an area less than 100 meters from your position. At the same time, they will employ a tracking device to home in on the 121.5 MHz frequency transmitted by the PLB. A PLB comes equipped with a long-lasting lithium battery, which remains dormant until you flip the switch. I recommend that you have class 1 heavy-duty batteries, which must be able to transmit at -40° F (-40° C) for 24 hours.

Thermal blankets – Alaska only requires a wool blanket for each occupant during winter. But even nights in the summer will get quite chilly and will drain your body temperature. Since body heat is your battery of life, always carry thermal blankets as well. These reflect and retain 90 percent of body heat. They are cheap ($8 apiece) and lightweight.

Other Preparations

Bears (and other predators) track their prey by their droppings. The equation of stalking is quite simple: the healthier the poop, the healthier the prey. Your waste needs to be disposed underground and quite a distance from your camp. So a shovel such as the one at www.pglinks.net/shovelaxe must make your carry-on list.

Last, but not least, familiarize yourself with AIM, Chapter 6 Emergency Procedures, Section 2 Emergency Services Available to Pilots, and especially with part 6-2-7 Search and Rescue. Gleim has a free copy of the FAR AIM online at www.pglinks.net/faraim.

But all these goodies are worthless if you don’t know how to use them. Montana Aeronautics conducts an excellent winter survival course that includes spending a night in an aircraft fuselage in the mountains, first aid, building a shelter, signaling, and getting water. The next winter survival course is Jan. 10–12, 2014. For more infor­mation, contact Dave Hoerner, 406-444-9568, www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/organization/ aeronautics.shtml.

Most importantly, know your personal limits and stick with them. Don’t try to be bigger than your inflated chest.

William Pass is a qualified training captain and mentor pilot for P3air and turboprop pilots. With worldwide flight experience of more than 30 years and thousands of hours in King Airs, he has flown turboprops as charter captain, freight pilot, lifeguard and ambulance pilot, ferry pilot, chief pilot, and chief flight instructor. He is also a certified lifeguard and trained professional rescuer. He conducts training courses for turboprops and water survival through his non-profit organization, www.h2o2foundation.org.