Ravn Alaska Seeks International Air Safety Certification

“The I-OSA standard… is the gold standard worldwide,” said Bruce Joseph with Ravn Alaska. The airline has begun the process of becoming certified with the International Air Transport Association’s Operational Safety Audit (I-OSA).

“Oh, foggy day…”

Nome residents may have had the old George Gershwin song (“A Foggy Day”) running through their heads early last month, as KNOM’s hometown was shrouded for days in thick fog (not to mention, low-30s temperatures and snow in June!). In Western Alaska, fog isn’t just a curiosity (or mere fodder for song lyrics); foggy weather […]

May 1998: Plane crash near Nome

May 14, 1998 A Cessna Caravan airplane with ten people aboard crashes on a hilltop three miles north of Nome in near zero visibility. KNOM broadcasts frequent live reports from search and rescue headquarters and from the scene as rescuers battle heavy snow and fog looking for the aircraft. This is one of many crashes […]

December 1989: Mt. Redoubt erupts

December 15, 1989 489 miles southeast of Nome, the Mount Redoubt volcano erupts, spewing great clouds of sulfurous volcanic sand and dust into the air. While the debris drifts away from Nome, the corrosive billows of grit ground airplanes in Anchorage, western Alaska’s supply hub. Grocery shelves grow bare, holiday presents are missing, and Nome’s mailboxes […]

Heavy weather, a week of cancelled flights, and new volunteers

As you may know, the Western Alaska communities that we serve are not connected to the state’s road system. Our ability to travel and to transport goods is thoroughly dependent upon commercial and cargo airlines and, especially, upon the weather. Lately, low visibility and other poor conditions have forced the cancellation of a number of Nome-bound flights. […]