California pilot dies in crash

Sat, June 7, 2008
Posted in Alaska News, Top Stories

Shaun Lunt in Alaska, 2007. More photos at shaunlunt.typepad.com

Friday night at approximately 7:30 p.m. (ADT), Alaska State Troopers in Bethel were notified a Piper Super Cub aircraft had crashed approximately 17.3 miles south of the village of Quinhagak, near Jack Smiths Bay.

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The victim of the crash was identified as Shaun Lunt, 33, of Loma Linda, California. Lunt was flying one of two Piper Super Cubs traveling together at the time of the crash. The pilot of the other Super Cub, identified as Lon “Loni” Habersetzer of Washington, had successfully landed in the area at the time the crash was reported, but then disappeared.

Photo of crash site on Friday evening, June 6, 2008. Photo courtesy Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers arrived on the scene around 10:00 p.m. and confirmed the pilot of the downed aircraft had died. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA were scheduled to arrive in Bethel Saturday afternoon before traveling to the crash site to investigate its cause.

The two did not file a flight plan, but bought fuel in Dillingham before flying north to where the crash occurred. Their intended destination was unclear Saturday afternoon.

Photo of crash site on Friday evening, June 6, 2008. Photo courtesy Alaska State Troopers.

UPDATE: 06/07/2008: Habersetzer, the second pilot, spoke briefly with Alaska State Troopers in Bethel via satellite phone on Saturday evening. According to a press release from the Troopers, he will be cooperating with the NTSB investigation.

Photo of pilot and Super Cub trainer Loni Habersetzer, from cubdriver749er.com

UPDATE: 06/08/2008: Shaun Lunt, the deceased pilot, had a blog featuring photography from his flying exploits in Alaska. He also has another blog with more photos. You can also see a video testimonial Lunt gave for the bush pilot training he received from Loni Habersetzer’s training business, CUBDRIVER 749ER, LLC. Habersetzer’s company also has a collection of 9 more videos related to the Super Cub training program.

Additionally, Lunt was quoted and in a lengthy Habersetzer profile in the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Magazine. The article was published last month.