(NewsNation) — A plane that crashed in Alaska in 2023 killing the husband of former Rep. Mary Peltola, was overweight with moose meat and encountered drag from antlers mounted outside at takeoff, according to federal investigators.
On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board issued its’ final report on the investigation into the crash that killed Eugene Peltola Jr., who was the only person onboard the plane.
Peltola was assisting a group that had ventured into the remote wilderness of western Alaska on a hunting expedition. On Sept. 12, Peltola was piloting the moose meat back from the hunting site on a second run. Moose antlers were mounted to the right wing strut. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, struggling to become airborne.
The NTSB determines the probable cause of this accident to be the “the pilot’s decision to operate the airplane above its maximum certificated gross weight, and his installation of an unapproved external load.”
The report also notes that Peltola had not used scales to weigh the cargo and that the “airplane was loaded with 117 pounds or about 6% over its maximum takeoff weight.”
The NSTB states that these factors altogether “degraded takeoff performance and flight characteristics resulting in a loss of airplane control during takeoff into an area of mechanical turbulence and downdrafts.”
While carrying antlers outside an aircraft is a common practice in Alaska, the NTSB notes that formal approval is required by the Federal Aviation Administration, with a notation in the plane’s logbook. According to the report there was no evidence that approval had been granted for the plane Peltola was piloting.