Cover Photos: Caption: Delivery of goods Courtesy: FAA FAA Navaid System Courtesy: https://www.burtonconstruction.net/what-we-do/navaids-faa-systems-facilities Caption: Cold Bay airport, 1972 Courtesy: Wikipedia Caption: NASA DHC-3 Otter Surveying Mountain Glaciers Courtesy: NASA Caption: CAA DC-3 Courtesy: FAA Caption: Indian Mountain Radomes Civil Aviation Policy in Alaska Courtesy: FAA Caption: Kontrashibuna Lake landing Courtesy: NPS Photo/W. Hill 1913-2018 Caption: Loening OL-8A, Alaska Survey Flight, 1929 Courtesy: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive Caption: Seaplane, Juneau, Alaska Courtesy: Gillfoto, Flickr Caption: FAA Fairchild C-123 at Yakataga, Alaska Courtesy: FAA Caption: A Kodiak Airways plane taking off from Kukak Bay, Alaska, 1964 Courtesy: John Atherton/Wikipedia Commons Caption: Wien Air Alaska aircraft, 1955 Courtesy: Preus Museum/Wikimedia Commons 2020 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Ave., SW Theresa L. Kraus Washington, DC 20591 This book is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Federal Aviation Administration in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or the use thereof. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturer’s names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objectives of the book. The author had complete freedom to interpret events as she saw them, and they are not necessarily the views of the federal government. Table of Contents Foreword ....................................................................................................vii Prologue: The Last Frontier Chapter 1: Aviation Comes to Alaska ....................................................... 3 Air Mail Service ........................................................................ 4 World War I and Its Aftermath .................................................. 6 Alaska’s First Aviation Companies ........................................... 8 Aerial Surveys ......................................................................... 10 No Longer a Novelty ............................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Pre-World War II Developments .......................................... 14 Building an Aviation Industry ................................................. 16 Unique Flying Conditions ....................................................... 19 Federal Inspectors ................................................................... 21 Aviation Growth ...................................................................... 24 A Small Federal Presence ........................................................ 25 Federal Aid .............................................................................. 30 Chapter 3: World War II .......................................................................... 35 Construction Boom ................................................................. 35 War Comes to Alaska .............................................................. 41 CAA Construction Continues .................................................. 43 Staffing Alaska’s Facilities ...................................................... 45 Economic Regulation of Alaska’s Airlines ............................. 47 CAA’s Fleet ............................................................................. 51 Chapter 4: A New Era in Alaskan Aviation ............................................ 52 Cold War Military Preparations .............................................. 53 Air Routes of the Future ......................................................... 56 Airport Improvements ............................................................ 60 Federal Aid to Airports ........................................................... 66 Safety Improvements .............................................................. 71 Post-War Life in the Territory ................................................. 74 iii The Sportsman’s Paradise ....................................................... 79 Chapter 7: The New Millennium .......................................................... 196 Public Enemy No. 1 – the CAB .............................................. 80 The Unthinkable: 9/11/2001 ................................................. 196 Alaska Pilot Owners ............................................................... 89 Flight Service Stations .......................................................... 200 From Administration to Agency ............................................. 90 Safety .................................................................................... 202 From Territory to Statehood ................................................... 91 Capstone ................................................................................ 204 Chapter 5: A New State and a New Agency ........................................... 92 Weather Cameras ................................................................... 209 The Question of Airport Ownership ....................................... 93 Circle of Safety ...................................................................... 211 Good Friday Earthquake ......................................................... 96 Medallion Aviation Safety Program ...................................... 212 Mother Nature Strikes Again and Again ............................... 101 The Safety Record ................................................................. 217 Modernization Brings Controversy ...................................... 103 Alaska Bypass ....................................................................... 218 Technological Advances ....................................................... 110 Unmanned Aerial Systems .................................................... 221 Safety in the “Flyingest” State .............................................. 113 Commercial Space................................................................. 230 Wien Air Alaska Strike ......................................................... 119 Environmental Cleanup ......................................................... 235 Alaskan Regional Office ...................................................... 120 Alaska Aviation by the Numbers ........................................... 243 Unionization and Labor Unrest ............................................ 122 Epilogue: The Next Frontier .................................................................. 245 Life in the Region ................................................................. 125 Appendix I: Senator Ted Stevens: A Champion of Aviation Safety ..... 248 A Quest for Diversity ............................................................ 129 Appendix II: Alaskan Region Administrators ...................................... 251 Alaska’s Airlines: The CAB, Routes, and Mergers .............. 130 Appendix III: Alaska AIP Grants, 1982-2018 ....................................... 252 Oil ......................................................................................... 133 Appendix IV: AFSS/FSS Openings and Closings Sources .................. 253 Chapter 6: Growth, Safety, and New Concerns ................................... 137 Bibliography ............................................................................................ 256 FSS Consolidation ................................................................ 139 Index ......................................................................................................... 288 Controller’s Strike ................................................................ 155 Safety Concerns .................................................................... 156 From Friend to Foe to Partner .............................................. 161 Improving Weather Information ........................................... 169 Volcanic Ash ......................................................................... 174 Safety Through Technology .................................................. 178 A FAA First ........................................................................... 183 Capstone ............................................................................... 183 Improving Relations with Russia ......................................... 187 Life in the Region ................................................................. 190 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ......................................................... 194 iv v Author’s Preface I want to thank Alaskan Regional Administrator Kerry Long for suggesting this history and having the confidence in me to complete the study. His support and that of many regional employees have provided me invaluable insight into Alaska’s aviation system and how the FAA is working to make that system safer. Meeting and talking with colleagues in the Alaskan Region about the region’s unique history was truly an honor. Their dedication and willingness to think outside of the box have vastly improved aviation in the state. Researching and writing this volume has been a labor of love and an incredible learning experience. Unless you live, work, and fly in Alaska, it is difficult to understand just how much Alaskans rely on the airplane for work and pleasure. I also want to thank the FAA’s Office of the Chief Counsel (AGC) for supporting me in this endeavor. It not only provided the agency’s historian a home in AGC, but without its sponsorship, I would not have been able