Rediske Air

Rediske Air was a small Alaska-based air taxi and air charter operator founded in 1991 by local pilot Charlie Rediske. The company operated from the Nikiski area and served the highly specialized aviation market associated with Alaska's remote communities, tourism, fishing lodges, and charter travel. Its business was based on small-aircraft operations rather than scheduled passenger airline service, with flights arranged for individual groups and destinations that may not have been connected by conventional commercial aviation. After Charlie Rediske died in 2001, operational responsibility passed to his son Walter Rediske and daughter Lyla Rediske, who became the airline's chief operators. Publicly available information about the company's fleet, route network, financial performance, ownership structure, and regulatory history is limited. The airline became widely documented because of the fatal crash of one of its de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter aircraft at Soldotna Airport on 7 July 2013. The aircraft was conducting a commercial charter flight to Bear Mountain Lodge, approximately 90 miles southwest of Soldotna, carrying one pilot and nine passengers. All ten people aboard died when the aircraft stalled shortly after takeoff and struck the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the central cause was improper loading. Supplies carried for the lodge had been estimated at approximately 300 pounds but were later determined to weigh about 720 pounds. The operator had not weighed the supplies or calculated the aircraft's center of gravity. The NTSB concluded that the aircraft was approximately 21 pounds overweight and that its center of gravity was substantially behind the certified limit. The aircraft also departed with its flaps fully extended, but the investigation concluded that the excessively aft center of gravity alone likely would have caused a stall even with the flaps correctly configured. The report identified the operator's failure to require appropriate weight-and-balance documentation as a contributing factor. By 2017, Rediske Air's website was no longer functioning, and the available reference material describes the airline as defunct. No reliable public source in the supplied material establishes the precise cessation date, a formal bankruptcy, a sale, or a successor brand. Rediske Air is therefore best understood as a former small charter-airline brand associated with Alaska's air taxi sector, rather than as a conventional scheduled carrier.

Rediske Air was established in 1991 by Charlie Rediske, a local Alaska pilot. It operated as a small air taxi and charter company from the Nikiski area, serving the distinctive needs of Alaska's remote and tourism-oriented aviation market. Unlike a large scheduled airline, its operations centered on on-demand flights using small aircraft to transport passengers and supplies to destinations such as wilderness lodges and other locations that could be difficult to reach by road or regular airline service. Charlie Rediske remained associated with the business until his death in 2001. Afterward, his son Walter Rediske and daughter Lyla Rediske became the company's chief operators. Available public accounts do not provide a complete chronology of the company's aircraft, route network, certificates, or corporate structure, and no reliable source supplied here identifies a parent company or a formal change of ownership. The company's most extensively documented event occurred on 7 July 2013. A Rediske Air DHC-3 Otter departed Soldotna Airport on a commercial charter flight bound for Bear Mountain Lodge. The aircraft crashed approximately 2,320 feet from the departure runway threshold, killing the pilot and nine passengers. The passengers included members of two families visiting Alaska from Greenville, South Carolina. The NTSB reconstructed the aircraft's flight path using video recorded on a passenger's mobile phone because the aircraft had no flight data recorder. Investigators determined that airspeed decreased rapidly and the angle of attack increased until the aircraft reached stall conditions approximately eleven seconds after takeoff. Examination of the engine and flight controls found no evidence of a pre-existing mechanical failure. The investigation instead focused on loading and configuration. The operator had estimated that supplies for the lodge weighed about 300 pounds, in addition to approximately 80 pounds of baggage. The NTSB determined that the supplies actually weighed approximately 720 pounds. The cargo had not been weighed, and the operator had not calculated the aircraft's center of gravity. Using passenger, fuel, baggage, and cargo information, investigators estimated that the aircraft was about 21 pounds overweight and that its center of gravity was at least 5.5 inches behind the certified limit, with one reconstruction placing it as much as 9 inches aft. The aircraft also took off with its flaps fully extended. The NTSB concluded that the loading condition produced an aerodynamic stall and that the operator's failure to require weight-and-balance documentation in accordance with applicable FAA requirements contributed to the accident. The supplied reference material indicates that Rediske Air's website was no longer functioning by 2017 and describes the airline as defunct. It does not establish whether the company formally ceased trading in that year, nor does it document a bankruptcy, acquisition, or successor. The airline's surviving public profile is consequently concentrated on its role as a small Alaska charter operator and on the 2013 fatal accident.

• 2017

  Website no longer functioning

  [1]2013 Rediske Air DHC-3 crashen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reported that the airline's website was no longer working by this year, and the airline is described as defunct.

• 2013

  Fatal DHC-3 crash at Soldotna

  [1]2013 Rediske Air DHC-3 crashen.wikipedia.org

  A chartered DHC-3 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all ten people aboard.

• 2001

  Walter and Lyla Rediske take over operations

  [1]2013 Rediske Air DHC-3 crashen.wikipedia.org

  Following Charlie Rediske's death, his son Walter and daughter Lyla became the airline's chief operators.

• 1991

  Rediske Air founded

  [1]2013 Rediske Air DHC-3 crashen.wikipedia.org

  Local pilot Charlie Rediske established the Alaska-based air taxi and charter operator.

A local Alaska air taxi and charter operator serving remote destinations, lodge travel, and small-group transportation.

• Passenger aviation · 1991

  Air taxi and passenger charter flights

  Rediske Air provided on-demand passenger transportation in Alaska using small aircraft. Its charter model was suited to private groups, lodge guests, and travelers going to remote destinations outside the regular scheduled-airline network.

• Specialized charter aviation

  Lodge and wilderness transport

  The airline transported passengers and supplies associated with remote Alaska lodges and tourism activities. The 2013 flight documented in public sources was a charter to Bear Mountain Lodge.

• 2013

  Charter flight operated with improperly documented loadingOther

  Background

  Before the fatal Soldotna departure, supplies and baggage were loaded without accurately weighing the cargo or calculating the aircraft's center of gravity.

  Action taken

  The flight departed with cargo substantially heavier than estimated and with the aircraft's center of gravity beyond its certified aft limit.

  Aftermath

  The aircraft stalled shortly after takeoff. The NTSB attributed the crash to improper loading and identified the operator's failure to require weight-and-balance documentation as a contributing factor.

  Source

1. 12013 Rediske Air DHC-3 crashen.wikipedia.org