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NTSB: Probable cause of crash that killed pilot Eugene Peltola was overweight plane, moose antlers on wing
By Zaz Hollander

Published: 21 hours ago

The Piper Super Cub flown by Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr. as photographed during takeoff on Sept. 12, 2023. Peltola crashed soon after while carrying moose meat out of a remote camp near Holy Cross. (Hunter photo provided by NTSB)
Federal investigators have determined that the overloading of a plane with moose meat and the moose antlers lashed to one wing likely caused a September 2023 crash that killed pilot Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., the late husband of Alaska’s former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola.

The single-engine Piper PA-18 Super Cub was carrying more than 500 pounds of meat and antlers when it crashed shortly after takeoff from a remote hunting camp near the Yukon River village of St. Mary’s. Peltola, the only person in the plane, was conscious but succumbed to his injuries within a few hours.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday issued a 16-page final report that lists the probable cause of the crash as the pilot’s “decision to operate the airplane above its maximum certificated gross weight and his installation of an unapproved external load that degraded takeoff performance and flight characteristics resulting in a loss of airplane control during takeoff into an area of mechanical turbulence and downdrafts.”

The agency released a docket of 25 items, including weather and mechanical information.



A lawsuit filed Friday by Mary Peltola challenges the contention her husband was solely to blame.

The lawsuit alleges the owners of the plane, who employed Peltola Jr., caused him to “fly excessive hours, to fly without adequate sleep or rest, to fly under unreasonably dangerous conditions, and to carry an external load without the permit required to do so,” according to a complaint for damages filed in Bethel Superior Court. It names as defendants hunting guide Bruce Werba and two companies Werba operated: Alaska Pike Safaris and Wilderness Adventures LLC, and Neitz Aviation Inc.

The filing, initially reported by KYUK public radio in Bethel, seeks damages in excess of $100,000.


Werba did not respond to a request for comment.

The crash occurred after Peltola flew five hunters and a guide into the remote area near the St. Mary’s runway on Sept. 12, 2023.


The group killed a moose, and Peltola ferried the first load of meat back to Holy Cross without incident, investigators say. On the second flight just before 9 p.m., the NTSB final report said, the plane was more “heavily loaded with meat and the pilot had mounted a set of moose antlers to the right wing strut.”

This time, the hunters said the takeoff appeared more labored and the plane rolled to the right before it flew behind a ridge, where it crashed, according to the report. The group cheered initially after watching the plane clear the ridge, then spotted the wreckage.

A hunter extricated Peltola and kept him warm with blankets and a heater but he needed prompt medical attention, the report said. The crash site was far from the nearest hospital and out of medevac range. An Alaska Air National Guard helicopter arrived by 2 a.m.

Peltola, who had reported more than 6,700 hours of flight time the month before the crash, did not weigh the cargo with scales and investigators estimated the plane was nearly 120 pounds over its maximum takeoff weight, the report said. There was no evidence the meat shifted during the flight.


The site of the plane crash on Sept. 12, 2023 that killed Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr. (NTSB)
A north wind at the time of takeoff would have created downdrafts and turbulence as Peltola’s flight began, lead investigator Eliott Simpson wrote. The downdrafts, coupled with the overweight Super Cub imbalanced by the antlers, “would likely have resulted in the airplane having insufficient power and/or control authority to maneuver above terrain,” Simpson wrote.

Carrying antlers externally on a plane is common in Alaska but requires formal Federal Aviation Administration approval that’s unique to the state, the report said. There was no evidence such approval was granted.

A hunter told investigators Peltola Jr. told them he’d be on reserve fuel by the time he got to Holy Cross, the report said.

The roughly 70-year-old Super Cub had numerous approved alterations and repairs, the report said. That meant its flight performance characteristics, especially when flying with more weight, were unknown.

Peltola Jr. was planning to buy the Super Cub at the end of the hunting season, according to the lawsuit. The suit claims Werba’s companies didn’t repay the Peltola estate for Peltola Jr.’s share of the plane, which included a down payment and a share of his pay going toward the plane. It also claims the companies didn’t purchase workers’ compensation insurance for Peltola Jr.

Peltola Jr., who was Yup’ik and Tlingit, spent more than 30 years working for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service before becoming regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Alaska. He also served as vice mayor and council member for the city of Bethel and sat on various Alaska Native village corporation boards. Peltola co-founded Alaska Carbon Solutions, a consulting firm focused on carbon sequestration.

Mary Peltola, a Democrat, served one partial term and one full term as Alaska’s lone representative in the U.S. House before losing a 2024 reelection bid to Republican Nick Begich III. In March, she joined a national law firm.