PICTURED: Victims of helicopter crash that killed five including Czech Republic’s richest man
PICTURED: Victims of Alaska helicopter crash that killed five including Czech Republic’s richest man and left an ex-Olympic snowboarder seriously injured – as it’s revealed chopper was just 15ft away from clearing peak
- Petr Kellner is a billionaire financier and friend of Chelsea owner Abramovich
- He was killed with four others when helicopter crashed on Knik Glacier, Alaska
- Benjamin Larochaix, 50; Gregory Harms, 52; Sean McMannany, 38; and the pilot, Zachary Russell, 33, were also killed at the crash site
- One passenger, 48-year-old David Horvath, survived and was rushed to hospital
- Five passengers included three guests of a luxury ski lodge, Tordrillo Mountain
- Kellner was described as ‘loyal and frequent’ guest at the luxury holiday retreat
- Preliminary probe revealed chopper was just 15ft away from clearing peak
Petr Kellner, 56, was a friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and was linked with buying Chelsea Football Club at one point
Photographs have emerged of the victims of the helicopter crash in Alaska that killed the richest man in the Czech Republic and four others. A former Olympic snowboarder for the Czech national team survived.
The victims were identified as a preliminary investigation revealed that the helicopter carrying Petr Kellner and five others barely missed clearing a remote ridge in the northern Chugach Mountain by between 10 and 15ft.
The Airbus AS350B3 helicopter was carrying two guides and three clients from the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge when it crashed near the Knik Glacier at around 6:30pm on Saturday, according to the Alaska State Patrol.
The passengers were on a heli-skiing expedition in the Chugach Mountains near Palmer some 50 miles east of Anchorage.
According to investigators, the helicopter slammed into a 6,000ft high peak which the pilot almost managed to clear, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Petr Kellner, 56, a billionaire financier and friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, died in the crash.
The others killed were Benjamin Larochaix, 50, also of the Czech Republic; Gregory Harms, 52, of Colorado; and two Alaskans, Sean McMannany, 38, of Girdwood, and the pilot, Zachary Russell, 33, of Anchorage.
The pilot, Zachary Russell (left), 33, of Anchorage, Alaska, and Benjamin Larochaix (right), 50, of the Czech Republic, were also killed
Sean McMannany (left), 38, of Girdwood, Alaska, and Gregory Harms (right), 52, of Colorado were also killed
All five were discovered dead at the crash site, while a sixth person, 48-year-old David Horvath (pictured) of the Czech Republic, was rushed to hospital and remains in a serious but stable condition, Alaska State Troopers said
The image above shows wreckage of the helicopter that crashed in the northern Chugach Mountains on Saturday. The photo was taken on Sunday
The image above shows two rescue helicopters on Sunday near the wreckage (not shown) where the crash took place
Alaska Mountain Rescue Group volunteers assemble near the site of the helicopter crash on Sunday
Russell was a helicopter pilot for Soloy Helicopters, a family-owned company that is based in Wasila.
All five were discovered dead at the crash site, while a sixth person, 48-year-old David Horvath, was rushed to hospital and remains in a serious but stable condition, Alaska State Troopers said.
Horvath, a former Olympic snowboarder and photographer, posted a photo on social media that was believed to have been taken shortly before the crash.
Tordrillo Mountain Lodge provides luxurious heli-skiing packages starting at $15,000 per head.
A contracted helicopter carrying guides and guests from a lodge on a heli-skiing trip in Alaska’s backcountry crashed, killing the pilot and four others, including the Czech Republic’s richest man Petr Kellner (pictured)
The helicopter crashed near Knik Glacier, around 50 miles east of Anchorage. The rescue team arrived to find five occupants dead and a sole survivor, who was taken to a hospital.
The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic today paid tribute to Kellner, an investment titan with a net worth of more than £12 billion ($17 billion).
‘An unbelievable tragedy,’ said minister Andrej Babis, who offered his condolences to the family.
‘I’m terribly sorry about it.’
Kellner owned a 98.93% stake in the PPF Group, an international investment company.
The group operates in 25 countries in Europe, Asia and North America with assets amounting to £37 billion ($51billion).
Kellner was a former co-owner of Czech football club Slavia Prague and was at one time linked with buying Chelsea Football Club in London.
Slavia Prague tweeted: ‘Slavia would like to offer its deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Kellner.’
Kellner kept a low public profile and rarely talked to the media.
In a statement sent via the Czech CTK agency, PPF Group asked for people to respect the family’s privacy.
It said the funeral will be organized strictly for the family. CTK reported that he had been married twice and had four children.
Tordrillo Mountain Lodge spokeswoman Mary Ann Pruitt said Kellner and Larochaix ‘were loyal and frequent’ guests at the holiday retreat.
Harms was a pioneering heli-ski guide in Alaska and worked for many years at the lodge, Pruitt said.
‘Greg was one of the most experienced guides in the business,’ she said.
He also founded a heli-ski company that led trips across the world.
McMannany had been a guide for over 10 years, and was with the lodge for the last five, she said.
He was also an avalanche instructor and an experienced mountain guide on Denali, North America’s tallest peak.
Russel was a pilot for Soloy Helicopters, a Wasilla-based company that is contracted by the lodge to provide transportation, Pruitt said.
‘This news is devastating to our staff, the community in which we operate and the families of the deceased,’ a statement released by the lodge said.
The company website bills itself as the longest operating heli-skiing lodge in Alaska, promising deep powder, pristine runs on some of the best mountain terrain in the world.
‘An unparalleled alpine adventure is only a helicopter ride away,’ the website says.
The statement from lodge said this was the first time in its 17 years in business ‘we´ve had to face an event of this measure.’
Soloy Helicopters has a fleet of 19 helicopters providing charter services primarily in Alaska.
Kellner was a friend of Abramovich and at one time linked with buying Chelsea Football Club in London
Tordrillo Mountain Lodge hosts guests throughout the year in Alaska, specialising in heli-skiing in the winter
Its website says it provides support to government and industry, specializing in work for seismic oil drilling exploration programs.
Soloy Helicopters did not immediately respond to an email to The Associated Press seeking comment Sunday.
Alaska State Troopers said in a statement Sunday that they received a report of an overdue helicopter and the location of possible crash debris Saturday night.
A rescue team from Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was dispatched to the crash site in the area of Knik Glacier just after 10 p.m., troopers wrote.
The team arrived to find five occupants dead and a sole survivor, who was taken to a hospital.
The Alaska Army National Guard and volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group recovered the bodies from the crash site Sunday and turned them over to the state medical examiner.
A temporary flight restriction placed over the glacier has been lifted, troopers said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the case of the crash.
