Cause Of Ultralight Accident Still Unknown

By ANN Contributor Rob Stapleton in Birchwood (AK) and Associate Editor Pete Combs

The unusually quiet tone at Arctic Sparrow Aircraft Friday was a testament to the energy and loss of ultralight legend Mike Jacober. The 52-year old Jacober was killed along with student pilot, Robert Pelkey of Homer (AK).

Jacober's charisma and can-do attitude attracted a strong following among sport aviators to his business - Arctic Sparrow Aircraft. But to Mike, flying six days a week was not a job. Rather, it was a passion.

Jacober was one of the most experienced ultralight pilots in the world. So says Rick Huggett, a fellow instructor at Arctic Sparrow Aircraft near Anchorage (AK). In 1993, Jacober flew an ultralight over the 20,320 foot peak of America's tallest mountain (Mt. McKinley). Wreckage of the trike was found Thursday about two miles from the Birchwood (AK) airport.

A Meeting Of Pilots

Friday, Sergey Zozuliya, a friend and business associate, met with fellow pilots to describe the crash. "Hey guys, I don't see any cause for this. They pancaked in at a very high velocity. There was nothing missing, no cables or hardware missing.

"It looks like maybe they stalled and hit the ground main landing gear first," he continued. "Perhaps at 5-6 G's, they made a crater 30 feet in the mud."

Neither the BRS parachute handle, or the solid fuel rocket had been used according to ASA officials who examined wreckage. BRS parachutes and mixture control are mandatory equipment for ultralight flight at Birchwood Airport.

Huggett tells the Associated Press that both he and Jacober were instructing over an inlet near Anchorage - an area commonly known to ultralight pilots as having relatively calm winds and stable air - when Jacober and Pelkey went down. Huggett says he didn't know about the crash right away. He had taken his student back to Birchwood Airport, dropped him off and picked up another. After taking off again, Huggett says he saw smoke coming from the wreckage of Jacober's ultralight.

Local ultralight pilots and members of the Ultralight Flyers of Alaska always listened and followed Mike's lead. They say his efforts and the tremendous time he devoted to aviation will not go unnoticed.

"We have to keep this going, said Huggett, an instructor at Arctic Sparrow Aircraft, and vice president of the Ultralight Flyers of Alaska.

"No one worked harder than Mike," said friend, accountant and ultralight Pilot Don Schaefer. "He was just so close to making all of the last 30 years effort pay off for the business, what a shame."

"We Like The Bumps"

Just three days before the accident that took his life, Jacober, renowned in sport aviation, took Anchorage Daily News reporter Elizabeth Manning up for a demo flight. There was a bit of turbulence on that otherwise perfect day. “We look for the bumps; we like them,” Jacober said before they left the ground, Ms. Manning writes. “We’ve all watched seagulls, eagles and hawks soaring around. We try to do what they do and hit the high spots.”

They talked about pending FAA rules that would allow ultralights to carry more than one person in situations other than flight training. They talked about how much more safe the new rules would make ultralight aviation and how Jacober expected a sales boom at Arctic Sparrow.

It was a carefree afternoon for Jacober. “I fly them for the ride,” he said. “It’s the serenity, and it’s about the same price as a therapist.”

More Weather Knowledge In His Little Finger...

"Mike could tell you every nuance of the local weather and predict the flying conditions," said Northwest Airlines pilot and friend, Eric Roberts. In fact, it was the weather that brought Jacober to Birchwood in the first place. He moved to Birchwood Airport 23 miles north of Anchorage in the late 1980's, specifically because of the special weather conditions.

Calling it the "Birchwood bubble" the mountains to the east of Birchwood shield the airport from high winds during the spring an summer months. Many times when ugly weather affects Anchorage the sun would be shining and the windsock would be hanging absolutely still.

Jacober used the mountains and the mud flats of the upper Knik arm as tools for flight instruction which he held six days a week. "The air is like water, you just can't always see what it is doing," said Jacober. "There are rivers, waves, and waterfalls of air, and if you know where to find them, and how to use them you will never tire of flying a flex wing."
Mike thought like a bird, and was always looking for a thermal bump for a ride.

"Wow-weee, here we go, what column of lift," he would radio as he circled a gravel pit generating thermals. "Wow look at those cumulus popcorns over the Talkeetna's, now there is some serious lift," Jacober cracked.

After a day's flying, Jacober burned the midnight oil in his hangar.

It was not unusual to see Mike soldering needle valves to cables making mixture control for two cycle engines, long after the sun set over Mt. Susitna.

Mike Jacober, ultralight pioneer, advocate, and instructor has gone west. Happy landings, Mike. Godspeed.

“Ultralight flying in Alaska is too much fun!”
(Mike Jacober, USUA, AFI)

FMI: www.arcticsparrowaircraft.com