The bush pilot Jim Tweto, well known as the star of the early 2010s documentary series Flying Wild Alaska on Discovery, died in a plane crash on Friday.
The crash which killed Tweto, 68, and his passenger occurred about 35 miles (60km) north-east of Shaktoolik, Alaska.
Alaska state troopers said they were notified that Tweto’s Cessna 180 crashed at about 11.50am. People reportedly saw the airplane take off, but it failed to climb to altitude before crashing.
The passenger who died when the plane crashed was 45-year-old Shane Reynolds of Idaho. Crews recovered the bodies of both men, and authorities have notified their families.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Flying Wild Alaska appeared for three seasons on Discovery from January 2011 to July 2012. It starred Tweto, his wife and their three daughters, who operated Era Alaska, a small regional airline serving remote communities in the state.
In an Instagram post, Tweto’s daughter Ariel Tweto wrote: “He died doing what he truly loved.”
Before becoming a pilot, Tweto was born in Kansas and grew up in Minnesota. He moved to Alaska to play hockey for the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Tweto remained in Alaska after meeting his wife, Ferno, in Unalakleet, Alaska, and he embarked on his career in aviation there, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
