NTSB · Safety Recommendation
Safety Recommendation A-17-040
Recommendation
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Publish an advisory circular that provides guidance on operational control best practices, including, but not limited to, such areas as risk mitigation strategies, joint flight safety responsibilities, prior experience of operational control personnel, and operational control personnel duty time limitations.
Safety Issue and Context
On June 25, 2015, about 1215 Alaska daylight time, a single-engine, turbine-powered, float-equipped de Havilland DHC-3 (Otter) airplane, N270PA, collided with mountainous, tree-covered terrain about 24 miles east-northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska. The commercial pilot and eight passengers sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned by Pantechnicon Aviation, of Minden, Nevada, and operated by Promech Air, Inc., of Ketchikan.
The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 as an on-demand sightseeing flight; a company visual flight rules flight plan (by which the company performed its own flight-following) was in effect. Marginal visual flight rules conditions were reported in the area at the time of the accident. The flight departed about 1207 from Rudyerd Bay about 44 miles east-northeast of Ketchikan and was en route to the operator’s base at the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base, Ketchikan.
Response History
February 2, 2026 · Recipient Response · FAA
-From Jimmy Bruno, Analyst, Aviation Safety: Please see the attached Advisory Circular, that was recently published ahead of schedule, to address the safety issues identified with Safety Recommendation A-17- 40. We wanted to share this with you upon publication, rather than wait for the 1- year response date. The attached file can be publicly accessed at: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/DRSDOCID14396755292026020214 3307.0001
Should you have any questions or need further information, please contact Mr. James Bruno, AVP-120.
June 24, 2025 · Recipient Response · FAA
-From Christopher J. Rocheleau, Acting Administrator: The FAA plans to publish an advisory circular (AC) for Enhanced Flight Following Center (EFFC) for Commercial Air Tour Operators. This AC will provide information and recommendations that may assist commercial air tour operators of all sizes and scope to develop, implement, and integrate enhanced flight-following procedures for improved operational control and create an EFFC. The publication will include processes to train personnel in preflight risk analysis, providing pilots with weather briefings, monitoring the progress of the flights, and participating in two-way communications with pilots to alert them of any weather hazards.
The anticipated publication date of this AC is September 30, 2026.
The FAA continues to review Hawaii air tour operators’ proprietary training materials to ensure they include cue-based, island-specific weather training. The improved quality of available training materials reviewed so far has satisfied the need for training examples, which the FAA would have provided otherwise.
Advisory Circular 136-B048 (now AC 136-4), Supplemental Information for the Creation of Operating Procedures and Pilot Training Subjects Related to Operations Specifications (OpSpec)/Letter of Authorization (LOA) B048, was published on 11/12/2024. The AC will provide guidance to air tour operators on training flight support personnel in the process of preflight risk analysis, providing pilots with weather briefings, monitoring the progress of active tour flights, and participating in two-way communications with pilots to alert them of any unanticipated weather hazards.