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BumRushDaShow

(158,623 posts)
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 08:56 AM Jul 23

Plane that crashed, killing husband of ex-Rep. Mary Peltola, had too much moose meat and was dragged by antlers

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: CBS News/AP

July 23, 2025 / 7:39 AM EDT


Juneau, Alaska — A small plane that crashed in 2023 while carrying moose meat for hunters in remote western Alaska, killing the husband of former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was overweight for takeoff and encountered drag from a set of antlers mounted outside, federal investigators said in a report released Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in its final report on the crash that killed Eugene Peltola Jr., who was the only person on board the aircraft, listed several factors among its probable cause findings. They included decisions by Peltola to fly the plane above its maximum takeoff weight and affix a set of moose antlers on the right wing strut that caused a drag, along with turbulent flight conditions in the area.

Downdrafts, "along with the overweight airplane and the added drag and lateral weight imbalance caused by the antlers on the right wing, would likely have resulted in the airplane having insufficient power and/or control authority to maneuver above terrain," the report states.

"Number one was, obviously, the overweight condition — no ifs, ands, or buts there," CBS Anchorage affiliate KYES-TV quotes NTSB Alaska Region Chief Clint Johnson as saying. "The parasitic drag from the antlers that were attached to the right wing, and then also the last thing would be the wind, the mechanical wind turbulence at the end of the takeoff area, which unfortunately, led to this accident. "If you would have been able to take one of those items out, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But those things all in combination led to this tragic accident."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/plane-crash-husband-ex-rep-mary-peltola-moose-meat-antlers-drag-ntsb/



Full headline: Plane that crashed, killing husband of ex-Rep. Mary Peltola, had too much moose meat and was dragged by antlers, NTSB says
19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Plane that crashed, killing husband of ex-Rep. Mary Peltola, had too much moose meat and was dragged by antlers (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Jul 23 OP
Greed, stupidity, and karma all manifest EYESORE 9001 Jul 23 #1
Sorry for the loss of life but this story ain't really what they call mainstream. twodogsbarking Jul 23 #2
Bush pilots often take off overweight. JohnnyRingo Jul 23 #3
Weight plus antlers harming airflow on one wing IbogaProject Jul 23 #17
aka death by stupidity. Javaman Jul 23 #4
Stupidity aligned with greed. efhmc Jul 23 #12
Seems like such a foolish way to go Sanity Claws Jul 23 #5
Why would hunters need to have meat delivered? cutroot Jul 23 #6
Probably waiting for the outfitters to tie up an animal for them to shoot Mysterian Jul 23 #8
Hunters not bagging any game? Irish_Dem Jul 23 #9
The grammar in the article is poor. It is not clear which way the meat was going. flashman13 Jul 23 #13
Stupidity vs nature Dave Id Jul 23 #7
Our school cafeteria would serve meat in gravy. We called it kangaroo meat. It wasn't pork, beef or chicken. twodogsbarking Jul 23 #10
I hope there is a "Pilot Debrief" on this one CanonRay Jul 23 #11
Moose antlers mounted on the wing? DavidDvorkin Jul 23 #14
Maybe it was Sarah Palin's idea. milestogo Jul 23 #18
An old joke: Two Yanks flew to Canada on a hunting trip. Floyd R. Turbo Jul 23 #15
Fucking revenge of the animal. You want to fucking kill animals, they exact their goddamn revenge one way or the fucking SoFlaBro Jul 23 #16
AFTER a review by forum hosts LOCKING Omaha Steve Jul 23 #19

EYESORE 9001

(28,852 posts)
1. Greed, stupidity, and karma all manifest
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 08:58 AM
Jul 23

twodogsbarking

(15,184 posts)
2. Sorry for the loss of life but this story ain't really what they call mainstream.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 08:59 AM
Jul 23

JohnnyRingo

(20,107 posts)
3. Bush pilots often take off overweight.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 09:04 AM
Jul 23

With enough skill and familiarity with the plane, they usually do fine. Most pilots in the wild possess those two qualifiers, but sometimes they get overconfident or weather conditions change in an instant. It's a hazardous occupation and mistakes aren't forgiven.

IbogaProject

(4,828 posts)
17. Weight plus antlers harming airflow on one wing
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 01:08 PM
Jul 23

It was the combination on top of bad weather.

Javaman

(64,397 posts)
4. aka death by stupidity.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 09:16 AM
Jul 23

antler on the plane? that's like the morons that put long horns on their cars here in Texas.

and too much moose meat? Please queue Christopher Welkin, "we need more moose meat".

efhmc

(15,769 posts)
12. Stupidity aligned with greed.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 11:14 AM
Jul 23

Sanity Claws

(22,236 posts)
5. Seems like such a foolish way to go
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 09:16 AM
Jul 23

cutroot

(1,018 posts)
6. Why would hunters need to have meat delivered?
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 09:43 AM
Jul 23

I could understand if they were craving a pizza 🍕

Mysterian

(5,854 posts)
8. Probably waiting for the outfitters to tie up an animal for them to shoot
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 10:32 AM
Jul 23

from 50 feet so they could put a "hunting" trophy picture and antlers on the wall of their lawyer office to look like a big adventure-man.

Irish_Dem

(73,311 posts)
9. Hunters not bagging any game?
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 10:34 AM
Jul 23

Have to fly it in.

Maybe rich people pretending to hunt.

flashman13

(1,482 posts)
13. The grammar in the article is poor. It is not clear which way the meat was going.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 11:23 AM
Jul 23

The story could be interpreted as, he was flying trophy meat out to civilization "for hunters" or was carrying meat in "for hunters" to eat. I lean toward the former. First, how many hunters could it possibly take to eat an over loaded plane full of moose meet. Also the antlers are the real give away. They are definitely a trophy going out.

It's still definitely death by Darwin. I have flown 10s of thousands of miles with Alaskan bush pilots and never seen anything so stupid.

Dave Id

(154 posts)
7. Stupidity vs nature
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 10:27 AM
Jul 23

Darwin wins again.

twodogsbarking

(15,184 posts)
10. Our school cafeteria would serve meat in gravy. We called it kangaroo meat. It wasn't pork, beef or chicken.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 10:41 AM
Jul 23

CanonRay

(15,532 posts)
11. I hope there is a "Pilot Debrief" on this one
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 10:46 AM
Jul 23

DavidDvorkin

(20,309 posts)
14. Moose antlers mounted on the wing?
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 12:09 PM
Jul 23

How could that be a good idea?

milestogo

(21,583 posts)
18. Maybe it was Sarah Palin's idea.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 01:20 PM
Jul 23

Floyd R. Turbo

(30,671 posts)
15. An old joke: Two Yanks flew to Canada on a hunting trip.
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 12:21 PM
Jul 23

They chartered a small plane to take them into the Rockies for a week hunting moose. They managed to bag six. As they were loading the plane to return, the Pilot said the plane could take only 4 moose.

The two guys objected strongly. "Last year we shot six. The pilot let us take them all and he had the same plane as yours."

Reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six were loaded. The plane took off. However, while attempting to cross some mountains, even on full power, the little plane couldn't handle the load and went down.

Somehow, surrounded by the moose bodies, only the Yanks survived the crash.

After climbing out of the wreckage, one Yank asked the other, "Any idea where we are?" He replied, "I think we're pretty close to where we crashed last year."

SoFlaBro

(3,593 posts)
16. Fucking revenge of the animal. You want to fucking kill animals, they exact their goddamn revenge one way or the fucking
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 12:26 PM
Jul 23

other.

Omaha Steve

(106,757 posts)
19. AFTER a review by forum hosts LOCKING
Wed Jul 23, 2025, 02:36 PM
Jul 23

NOT important news of national interest only.

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