Former District 30 Rep. Gary Knopp’s estate and his wife Helen as co-owner of the plane are being sued for wrongful death and negligence following the July 31, 2020 mid-air collision involving a plane Knopp was piloting.
The estates of Caleb Parker Hulsey, Mackay Alexander Hulsey and Heather Nicole Dillard Hulsey, through their attorneys, demand a jury trial. The lawsuit arises from the tragic mid-air collision that took place 1,175 feet above Soldotna in which a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser piloted by former Rep. Knopp, with no other occupants and a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver piloted by Gregory Bell and occupied by 5 other passengers, collided. All seven individuals died as a result of the mid-air collision, including the plaintiff’s descendants.
The defendants include Helen Knopp, as personal representative of the Estate of Gary Knopp, High Adventure Air Charter Guides and Outfitters and Soldotna Aircraft and Equipment Leasing.
On July 31, 2020, the plaintiffs’ descendants were passengers aboard the High Adventure Charter flight originating at Longmere Lake bound for a remote lake on the west side of Cook Inlet. The charter flight departed Longmere Lake at 8:24 a.m. with five passengers aboard, including Caleb Hulsey, Mackay Hulsey and Heather Dillard Hulsey. At that same time, Gary Knopp departed Soldotna Airport bound for Fairbanks reportedly on the purpose related to business operations of G & H Construction, a company he owned and operated.
Preliminary flight track data reveals that the DHC-2 Beaver was traveling northwest and gradually climbing 78 knots when it crossed the Sterling Highway near Soldotna. Around that same time, the Piper PA-12 was traveling northeast at about 71 knots north of and parallel to the Highway. It’s reported that the collision happened at 8:27 a.m. at an altitude of 1,175 feet and data signals were lost. Following the mid-air collision, the DHC-2 Beaver fragmented into pieces with the main wreckage coming to rest in a debris field in a wooded residential area. The Piper PA-12 main wreckage was found 600 feet east of that.
The plaintiffs allege several counts of negligence, including wrongful death as a result of the mid-air collision. The allegations state that Knopp owed duties of care under both Alaska law and federal law, including the Federal Aviation Regulations, to operate in a reasonable safe manner the aircraft he was flying. The plaintiffs claim damages well in excess of $75,000, which exceeds the minimum jurisdictional limits of the Court, citing pain, suffering and emotional distress, lost earnings, and other related costs. The lawsuit was submitted on March 3.
As of now, there doesn’t appear to be a scheduled court date.
