Jim Tweto, bush guide killed in Western Alaska plane crash

UNALAKLEET, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska State Troopers have reported that noted bush pilot and aviation executive Jim Tweto has died in a plane crash near Shaktoolik.

A social media account for the NTSB shared at 3:59 p.m. Alaska time that the agency is “investigating the crash of a Cessna 180H airplane near Unalakleet, Alaska.”

Alaska State Troopers report that they received an SOS notification from a Garmin InReach device at 11:48 a.m. on Friday. A plane crash was reported 35 miles northeast of Shaktoolik after a Cessna 180 was witnessed attempting a takeoff but failing to gain elevation. The aircraft crashed, killing both the pilot and the passenger.

The deceased have been identified as 45-year-old Shane Reynolds of Orofino, Idaho and 68-year-old Jim Tweto of Unalakleet.

Tweto, a well-known bush pilot and owner of aviation-related businesses, was a cast member of the Discovery Channel reality show “Flying Wild Alaska”. Tweto is also a noted boat builder and came to Alaska on scholarship to play hockey at University of Alaska Anchorage.

Reynolds was the owner and operator of Northwest Fishing Expeditions. A LinkedIn profile for Reynolds says he focused on guiding trips for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and bass in the Snake, Columbia, and Grande Rivers of Washington and Oregon.

Tweto’s daughter Ariel — also featured on the program, which ran in 2011 and 2012 — shared on social media that her father died Friday in a plane crash.

“I didn’t think anything could hurt this bad. And I don’t know why I’m writing this but the news is out so I figured you hear it from me,” Ariel wrote on an Instagram post. “My dad and a wonderful hunting guide and friend of our family passed away this afternoon in his 180.”

Comments on the post reflected Jim’s notoriety as a talented aviator.

“I’ll always liked working for him and he treated me so good,” one fellow pilot said. “I’ll never forget flying the 180 with him in St. Mary’s. He let me keep my tailwind current in it. He will be missed.”

This is a developing story and will be updated with new information.

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