Thousands of visitors visit the Davidson Glacier at Glacier Point in the Chilkat Inlet each summer. (Berett Wilber.)
The Haines Borough Assembly has been discussing the status of a permit for tour operator Alaska Excursions. In February, several former employees complained about the company’s safety practices. A few months later a man drowned during a canoe tour offered by the company.
Assemblyman Tom Morphet has been urging the Haines Borough to consider revoking the permit for Alaska Excursions after Steven Todd Willis drowned during a tour of the Davidson Glacier in July.
According to the state trooper report on the incident, Willis and 10 other passengers entered the water when a canoe tipped over due to an engine malfunction above a fast-moving section of the Davidson Glacier River.
At a meeting Tuesday, Assemblyman Tom Morphet moved to ask Alaska Excursions owner Robert Murphy if he intends to renew the permit for the canoe tour at Glacier Point and schedule a meeting with the borough’s attorney to discuss alternatives if necessary.
Assemblyman Sean Maidy countered that the company hasn’t even applied to renew its permit.
“If we go to one specific permit holder I could see how that would be seen by any attorney worth their degree as discrimination. Maybe even harassment. The ball is in his court to renew,” Maidy said.
Morphet responded that the Alaska Excursions tour permit is different, given the company’s history.
“I think we owe it to the man who died to stop and consider this company’s record, which was brought to us through the testimony of a dozen former employees that said something bad is going to happen. And we ignored it,” Morphet said.
Alaska Excursions has faced severe criticism of its safety practices from several of the company’s past employees. In February, former canoe guide Alton Smith wrote a letter to the Haines Borough Assembly detailing canoe maintenance issues. He said that the most dangerous part of the canoe tour was the risk of an outboard motor failing above the rapids of the Davidson Glacier River.
Alaska Excursions owner Robert Murphy has denied the claims of former employees and said that the company has been reviewing safety protocol and maintentance practices over the last few months. In an interview with the state troopers, Murphy stated that the engine of the canoe that capsized was new in May and had been tested regularly.
The Borough Manager has the authority to revoke permits in Haines.
Borough Manager Debra Schnabel said that she did not revoke the Alaska Excursions tour permit immediately because the state troopers’ report on the incident did not indicate negligence.
“I myself as a tour operator suffered the death of a client. Things happen. If we are not willing sometimes to consider that not every death that occurs is something that could have been prevented if this, if that, then we don’t move very far.”
Ultimately the assembly voted against Morphet’s motion to ask Murphy whether or not he intends to renew the tour permit. However, the assembly did direct the Borough Manager to look further into the issue and seek legal advice on the matter.
