(Jillian Rogers photo)
A Skagway helicopter pilot is dead following a crash outside Skagway on Friday evening. The pilot was 59-year-old Christopher Maggio of Skagway. Maggio was the only person on board.
According to an Alaska State Trooper report, the U.S. Coast Guard contacted troopers Friday evening around 8:30 to report that a helicopter had gone down near the upper portion of the Denver Glacier, six miles east of Skagway.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Sitka was dispatched to locate the crash site and confirmed the pilot was deceased. Skagway Search and Rescue recovered Maggio on Saturday afternoon. Maggio’s remains will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for an autopsy. Next of kin have been notified.
This is the second Southeast helicopter crash this week.
Tim DeSpain is a public information officer for the troopers. He said Saturday that the helicopter was returning to the Skagway base from the glacier dog camp, after dropping off supplies, when it went down.
The National Weather Service called for cloudy, windy conditions Friday afternoon and evening. Wind gusts were estimated at around 40 miles per hour. The cause of the crash is unknown.
According to Joe Hicks, Temsco’s senior vice president, the pilot was overdue from his supply drop as of 7 p.m. Friday. He said another Temsco helicopter was launched at 7:12 p.m. from Skagway, and at 8 p.m. the aircraft was located and the Coast Guard notified. Rescue efforts were then coordinated with the Coast Guard as well as local fire and rescue teams.
The National Transportation Safety Board has started an investigation into the cause of the crash.
Hicks stated that “Temsco will not speculate or release any details regarding the cause of the incident until authorized to do so by the NTSB.”
“The entire Temsco family is deeply saddened by this tragic incident, and our thoughts and prayers go to the family and loved ones of our pilot,” Hicks said.
As the summer tourist season gears up, helicopters are busy flying gear, guides and sled dogs to summer glacier camps. An Era helicopter crashed on the Norris Glacier outside Juneau on Thursday, injuring the pilot. Both the Norris and Denver glaciers serve as seasonal basecamps for different sled dog tour companies.
My family grew up across the street from Chris and the Maggio family, on Ranch Top Road in Pasadena, CA. Chris always had some project going on (restoring a vintage motor cycle, a sailing boat, etc.) in his family’s garage! One of my sisters and I reconnected with Chris (after 47 years) just last May (2016) in Skagway while in port on an Alaskan cruise. My wife, my sister and I had a happy, laughter filled dinner with Chris at a seafood restruant near port, talking about our wonderful Pasadena childhood years together. Chris was a very special and uplifting person to be around, and that smile of his…we will never forget his smile!!! Chris will always be in our thoughts, along with his family. RIP Chris…we were blessed and honored to have known you!
Chris will be missed forever. What a wonderful character he was. Denise and Chris’ family, we all mourn with you.
Chris was a “gentleman” with a ready smile and always a friendly greeting. Our hearts go out to Denise ~ there are no words to convey our sorry to You! the Temsco family will be devastated by this tragic loss of friend and co-worker! Prayers and loving memories of this wonderful member of our Skagway community!
I sit here and I am stunned and absolutely broken hearted to hear of Chris’s passing. I have known Chris “Hollywood” Maggio for 24 years. I worked with Chris is 1992 at Tesco and this news, this is horrible. All I have to say and offer right now is to Denise, and Denise, you are in my thoughts and cherish the time and memories you shared with Chris.
This is just too horrible for words.
Chris, you will be missed and remembered.
Adios, Hollywood, adios and good night.
RIP.