Denali Flightseeing Tour Makes Emergency Landing

A K2 Aviation flight made an emergency landing near Tokositna Glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve on Friday evening after losing power. 

Park Rangers received a call at about 5 pm on Friday from K2 Aviation reporting that one of their planes made an emergency landing while on a flightseeing tour. According to Suzanne Rust with K2 Aviation, there was no scheduled glacier landing with the tour. The plane landed in an area of thick alder bushes near the toe of the glacier near Mt. Goldie. 

There were eight passengers on board and no injuries were reported. There also were no reports of structural issues or fluids leaking from the aircraft. 

Park officials requested assistance from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. A National Park Service helicopter shuttled the passengers and pilot to a flat area on a gravel bar at the base of the glacier. Three responding helicopters then flew the passengers and pilot to Talkeetna. An HH-60 helicopter from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) transported five people. An R-44 from Talkeetna Air Taxi transported three people. The Park’s A-Star helicopter transported the remaining individual.

Emergency medical personnel met the helicopters in Talkeetna and all declined medical treatment. 

Park officials are working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to determine the cause of the incident. The NTSB will also help coordinate the plane’s removal from the site. 

On behalf of Denali National Park and Preserve, Superintendent Brooke Merrell says she is grateful for the swift response and that everyone is safe.