Alaska’s former United States Representative, Mary Peltola, is suing the owners of the aircraft that her late husband Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr. was piloting at the time of his death.
The civil suit filed in Bethel Superior Court on Friday, July 18 alleges that negligent actions by hunting guide Bruce Werba and two companies under Werba’s control caused Peltola Jr.’s death. The suit says that Werba, as operator of the companies Alaska Pike Safaris and Wilderness Adventures and Neitz Aviation, owned the plane.
The Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub piloted by Peltola Jr. was loaded with moose meat when it crashed shortly after takeoff from a remote hunting camp near the lower Yukon River community of St. Mary’s on Sept. 12, 2023.
According to the suit, the defendants acted negligently by causing Peltola Jr. to fly excessive hours, fly without adequate rest, fly under unreasonably dangerous conditions, and carry moose antlers lashed to the exterior of the aircraft without the required permit.
A final report on the crash released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on July 22 found no evidence that the plane had been approved for carrying antlers externally, and that the antlers likely degraded takeoff performance. It also found that the plane was loaded roughly six percent above its maximum takeoff weight. The report says these factors combined with the turbulent conditions in the area likely caused Peltola Jr. to lose control of the aircraft.
The suit also alleges that Peltola Jr. was an employee of the defendants at the time of his death, and that the defendants failed to provide workers’ compensation insurance for him.
Myron Angstman, one of two attorneys representing the plaintiff, said that this is a critical detail.
"If you don't have workers' comp[ensation insurance], then you're open to a lawsuit, and this is the key part. You are unable to blame the employee for what happened. That's just simply what the law says," Angstman said.
The suit also claims that at the time of his death, Peltola Jr. was working as part of an agreement to purchase the Piper Super Cub and had made a down payment on it. According to the suit, the title for the aircraft was set to be transferred to Peltola Jr. at the end of the 2023 hunting season. The suit claims that the defendants have failed to pay back funds paid by Peltola Jr. before his death and owed his estate.
The suit calls for a jury trial and asks for damages of more than $100,000. As of July 21, an initial hearing had not been set. The filing comes just weeks before the two-year statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Alaska was set to kick in.
Alaska Pike Safaris and Wilderness Adventures declined to comment.
