But Many Feel The Program Will Be Damaging To Tourism, Difficult For Families

A six-part television show set to debut Sunday night on The Smithsonian Channel has drawn criticism from tourism officials in Alaska, the state's Congressional delegation, and families of people injured or killed in aircraft accidents.

Television station KTUU reports that the program, titled 'Alaska Air Crash Investigations', follows NTSB investigators around the state documenting their work. Mary Kenshalo, whose husband was fatally injured in an accident near Sutton AK last year, told the station the show's producers should have consulted with people like her before proceeding with the program. Though the accident involving Kenshalo's husband is apparently not featured on the program, she said that people like her don't want their tragedies "played out on camera." But more importantly, she said, "we don't want it play out incorrectly."

The show is being opposed by the Alaska Travel Industry Association, which said the scheduling of the miniseries could be detrimental to tourism. And Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) met with NTSB officials on Thursday, but it appears that they will not have the show pulled from the schedule.

The NTSB and the shows producers say the program is a documentary, but Murkowski says it looks more like a reality TV show. But if it is a documentary, Murkowski said "documentary shouldn't sensationalize air accidents."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.murkowski.senate.gov, www.smithsonianchannel.com