Story ID: 
Taquan Air Suspends All Operations
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: The Alaska operation suffered two fatal crashes in May.
Word Count: 218
Ketchikan, Alaska-based charter operator Taquan Air said it has “voluntarily suspended all of our operations until further notice,” following two fatal accidents within a week’s time. On May 13, a Taquan-operated turbine Otter and a Mountain Service-operated Beaver were involved in a deadly mid-air, and on May 20, a Taquan-operated Beaver suffered a fatal crash. Both accidents occurred in VMC under Part 135.

Following the midair, Taquan said it was suspending all its flights while the accident is being investigated, but flights resumed shortly thereafter.

In a statement released one day after the second accident, the company said, “As you can imagine the past 24 hours have been incredibly overwhelming and we are reeling from not only the incident yesterday but also from last week. It’s been a really heavy and heartbreaking time for us. Our priority has been our passengers and their families and our internal staff and pilots. We have voluntarily suspended all of our operations until further notice. We are grateful for your patience and the outpouring of community support and we will update you as soon as we have more information to share.”

Since 1996, Taquan has been involved in five fatal accidents, including the two most recent crashes. The company also experienced a serious nonfatal accident last year.