Snow, rugged terrain hinder recovery of helicopter that crashed in Alaska
Czech billionaire, four others killed; survivor hospitalized
A helicopter crash in the Alaska wilderness killed five people, including one of Europe’s richest residents, after the chopper went down on Saturday during a backcountry heli-skiing trip.
Among the victims was Petr Kellner, 56, who was the Czech Republic’s richest person and one of the 70 richest people in the world last year, according to Forbes.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety said rescuers over the weekend recovered the bodies of Kellner and four others: Benjamin Larochaix, 50, a resident of the Czech Republic; heliskiing guides Greg Harms, 52, and Sean McManamy, 38; and Zachary Russell, 33, pilot of the helicopter.
A sixth person, who had not been identified as of late Sunday, was in serious but stable condition and being treated at a hospital in the Anchorage area. A rescue team found no other survivors.
It was not clear what caused the Airbus AS350 B3 helicopter to crash. It was due back around 6:30 p.m. and was reported overdue by 8:30 p.m., National Transportation Board member Tom Chapman said in a virtual news conference Monday afternoon. A search-effort operator found wreckage about an hour after that, near Palmer, Alaska, 45 miles north of Anchorage, Chapman said.
The commercial aircraft rolled downhill 800 to 900 feet from an elevation of about 5,500 feet, Chapman said.
Victim recovery was expedited as a snowstorm threatened to obscure the area that Chapman described as having rugged terrain and weather conditions, but he said a full recovery of the site, including wreckage, was a priority. Chapman said that the exact weather conditions at the time of the crash were still unknown, and that details from the flight recorder had not been recovered.
The chopper had been chartered for a backcountry heli-skiing trip by the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, a representative for the lodge, Mary Ann Pruitt told The Washington Post. With packages starting at $15,000 per person, the lodge bills itself as a multisport luxury facility in the remote Tordrillo mountain range.
Kellner and Larochaix, the two Czech victims, were “loyal and frequent guests” at the Tordrillo lodge, Pruitt said. Kellner, whose net worth was estimated at $17.5 billion, made his fortune selling office supplies and then buying a stake in the Czech Republic’s largest insurance company, Forbes reported.
The billionaire was the founder and majority shareholder of the Netherlandsbased PPF Group, an investment fund with business spanning telecoms, finance, biotechnology, mining and real estate. The company has assets exceeding $50 billion, according to its website.
“His professional life was known for his incredible work ethic and creativity, but his private life belonged to his family,” the company said in a statement, adding the funeral would be for close relatives only.
Born in North Bohemia in what was then Czechoslovakia, Kellner started his career selling photocopiers after the fall of communism in 1989, Czech media reported. He built his business empire by acquiring stakes in formerly state-owned enterprises as the country made its transition to capitalism. Most notable was a holding in what had been the state-run insurer.
Last year, PPF acquired CME, a media and entertainment company that broadcasts more than 30 television channels in Europe, from AT&T. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was among those who raised concerns about the sale, alleging that Kellner and his company worked as a “proxies” for China.
The company has dismissed such allegations against it as “unfounded” and said that it is committed to freedom, democracy, entrepreneurship, professionalism and a plurality of opinions. Kellner was also a former co-owner of the Czech soccer team Slavia Prague, which said it had received the news with “great sadness.”