Jim Tweto Dies in Plane Crash: Discovery’s ‘Flying Wild Alaska’ Star Was 68
Jim Tweto, a pilot who starred in Discovery‘s reality documentary series Flying Wild Alaska, has died. He was 68.
Tweto and his friend Shane Reynolds, a hunting guide from Orofino, Idaho, died Friday, June 16, in a small plane crash near the coastal village of Shaktoolik, Alaska. Tweto’s daughter Ariel confirmed her father’s passing on her Instagram page on Saturday (June 17).
“I didn’t think anything could hurt this bad,” Ariel wrote. “And I don’t know why I’m sharing this but the news is out so I figure you hear it from me. And I’d take any other type of pain if he could just land today.”
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“My dad and a wonderful hunting guide and friend of our family passed away this afternoon in his 180,” she added. “He died doing what he truly loved and is now with Uncle Ron up there soaring. Please send love to both of them and my mom, sisters, and his wife and family.”
According to the Alaska State Trooper’s report (per The Hollywood Reporter), the “Cessna 180 aircraft was witnessed taking off but not climbing and then crashing.” The troopers who arrived on the scene recovered two bodies. The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the crash.
Tweto and his family were featured on Discovery’s Flying Wild Alaska, which ran for three seasons between 2011 and 2012. The series revolved around the daily life and operations at Era Alaska, the airline Tweto was operating at the time. It also included segments from the family’s other bases in Utqiagvik (Barrow) and Deadhorse.
The show featured Tweto’s wife, Ferno, and two of their daughters, Ayla and Ariel. The couple also have a third daughter, Elaine. Ariel has since gone on to become a voice actress, most notably voicing Kima Evanoff on the Fox animated series The Great North.
