When you think of Alaska, you think of those endless, jagged horizons and the kind of people who actually have the guts to fly over them. For years, Jim Tweto was the face of that grit. He wasn’t just some TV personality; he was a guy who basically lived in the cockpit of a Cessna.
Then June 16, 2023, happened.
The news hit the aviation community like a physical weight. Jim Tweto, the patriarch of Flying Wild Alaska, and his passenger, Shane Reynolds, were gone. They went down near Shaktoolik. It felt impossible. How does a man with over 30,000 hours in his logbook—a guy who survived the most brutal conditions the Bering Sea could throw at him—lose his life on a routine ferry flight?
Honestly, the answer isn’t a mechanical failure or a mysterious engine blowout. It’s a lot more sobering.
The Final Flight of N91361
Jim was doing exactly what he’d done for decades. He was helping a hunting party break camp. That morning, he was flying a Cessna 180H, a plane he famously called his favorite in the entire fleet because of how "nimble" it was.
He’d already made two successful trips that day.
The airstrip wasn’t exactly a paved runway at LAX. It was a 750-foot-long, sloped ridgeline. In the bush, you don't always get the luxury of headwind takeoffs. Because of the terrain, Jim had to land uphill and take off downhill. It’s a standard move for guys with his experience, but it leaves zero room for error.
Shane Reynolds, a well-known guide from Idaho, hopped in for the third trip of the day.
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Another guide was watching from the ground. He saw the Cessna start its downhill roll. Everything looked fine. Normal engine sound. Normal speed. But as the plane dipped below the ridge—a common occurrence there—it didn't pop back up.
It never climbed.
The witness ran to the edge of the ridge and looked down. The Cessna had impacted the tundra about 1,200 feet away from a cluster of trees. It was a steep, nose-down crash. There was no fire, but the impact was unsurvivable.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Cause
When a legend like Jim Tweto crashes, the internet starts spinning theories. People talk about heart attacks or engine failure.
But the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) final report, released in July 2025, painted a very different picture. It wasn't the engine. It wasn't a medical emergency.
It was the wind.
Specifically, a nasty, gusting tailwind that appeared out of nowhere. One of the guides on the ground actually told Jim before the final takeoff that the winds were "gusting and changing a lot." In a light aircraft like a Cessna 180, a tailwind during a downhill takeoff is a recipe for a "behind the power curve" situation.
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Basically, the plane didn't have enough airspeed to climb.
As the plane struggled to gain lift, it veered slightly left. The NTSB investigators found fragments of red paint and tree fibers on the plane's left horizontal stabilizer. Jim’s tail had clipped a 12-foot-tall tree.
That was the "game over" moment.
Once that stabilizer was damaged, the plane became nearly impossible to control. It stalled and dove into the valley floor. It’s a haunting reminder that in Alaska, the environment is the ultimate boss. Even for a pilot who had spent the equivalent of three and a half years of his life in the air, one bad gust at the wrong second can be the end.
The Legacy Beyond the Wreckage
Jim wasn’t just a pilot; he was a builder. He moved to Alaska from Minnesota on a hockey scholarship and ended up building the largest regional airline in the state.
He helped merge Hageland Aviation and Frontier Flying Service to create Era Alaska.
Most fans knew him through his daughter, Ariel Tweto. Her journey to get her pilot's license was a huge part of why people loved the show. Jim was the quiet, smiling force behind her. He didn't really want to be on TV, but he did it for her.
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He once said, "I'm a proud father. I'll do whatever I can for my daughter."
That's the guy people in Unalakleet remember. Not the "TV star," but the guy who would weld a broken boat for a neighbor or fly a critical part to a remote village in the middle of a storm just because it needed to get done.
The Real Risks of Bush Aviation
If there’s a lesson in the Jim Tweto plane crash, it’s a grim one about complacency and the limits of skill.
- Experience isn't armor: NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson pointed out that he's investigated crashes with 100-hour pilots and 28,000-hour pilots. Nobody is immune.
- The "One More Trip" Trap: Jim was retired but kept flying commercially because he couldn't stay away. He was familiar with that strip. He’d done it a thousand times. Sometimes, that familiarity is what makes you take the risk.
- Weather over everything: In the backcountry, "visual conditions" can be a lie. A 15-knot gust at the wrong angle on a short strip is more dangerous than a blizzard on a long one.
Moving Forward: Lessons for Pilots and Fans
If you're a private pilot or someone who loves backcountry aviation, Jim's story is now a case study. It’s used to talk about "density altitude" and "tail-low takeoffs," but mostly about the psychology of the "go/no-go" decision.
For fans, the best way to honor Jim is to support the organizations that keep these remote communities alive. Jim’s life was about service to the bush. He died helping people get home.
If you want to dive deeper into the technical side of the investigation, you can read the full NTSB Final Report (Accident Number ANC23FA042). It’s a dry document, but it’s the most honest tribute to the physics of what happened that day.
Next time you see a small bush plane buzzing over a ridgeline, remember Jim. Respect the wind. And maybe, like Jim always did, keep a little bit of that Minnesota-turned-Alaskan grit in your own life.
Actionable Insights for Backcountry Safety:
- Respect the Tailwind: Never underestimate how much a 10-knot tailwind increases your takeoff distance on a sloped strip.
- Listen to Ground Observers: If someone on the ground says the wind is "changing a lot," take the hint and wait.
- The "Impossible Turn" and Low-Level Stalls: Once a control surface (like a stabilizer) is compromised at low altitude, recovery is statistically unlikely; prioritize obstacle clearance above all else during the initial climb.