Ravn Alaska

An Era Alaska de Havilland Dash 8-100 operated by Era Aviation, 2008

A Ravn Alaska Beechcraft 1900C (N575Q) in Nome, Alaska.

Corvus Airlines traces its roots back to 1948 and the founding of Economy Helicopters. The company was founded by Carl Brady, when he flew the first commercial helicopter to Alaska to work on a mapping contract for the U.S. government.

In the years that followed, Economy Helicopters renamed itself Era Helicopters and the company saw most of its business by supporting offshore oil drilling. Era's helicopters supported the efforts to build the Alyeska Pipeline and it was during the construction of the pipeline that the company started its fixed-wing division with DeHaviland Twin Otter and Convair 580 aircraft.[11]

After the construction of the pipeline, Era saw an opportunity to scheduled passenger service, which first started in May 1983. The Convair planes were used for service to Valdez, Kenai, Kodiak, Cordova, and Homer. The Twin Otter fleet was based out of Bethel and operated service to many of the small communities surrounding it.

In 1988, Era Helicopters formally changed its name to Era Aviation.

The company endured a very turbulent transition between December 2004 and December 2006, which saw several changes in ownership, the spinoff of the Era Helicopters division, and the company entering and emerging from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.[12]

In early 2009, HoTH Inc., the holding company that owned Hageland Aviation Services and Frontier Flying Service, purchased Era Aviation.[12] However, Era Helicopters was not part of the acquisition and instead became an independent company.[13] In October 2009, HoTH Inc. also acquired Arctic Circle Air Service, a local cargo airline.[14] The combined air group rebranded itself as Era Alaska, taking advantage of Era's recognizable name.[15]

In January 2014, the companies were renamed once again in what the company says was an effort to decrease confusion and distinguish it from other companies that are named Era,[16] including the independent Era Helicopters.[13] The combined air group Era Alaska was renamed Ravn Alaska,[17] Era Airlines was renamed Corvus Airlines,[18] and while Hageland Aviation Services and Frontier Flying Service would keep their names, they both now operate as Ravn Connect.[19]

In August 2016, the New York-based J.F. Lehman and Co. acquired a majority stake in Ravn while the remaining shares were retained by Bob Hajdukovich, then CEO of the company.[17]

Ravn Alaska purchased all of the aircraft and other owned assets of Yute Air on March 5, 2017, as the latter shut down, taking over the Yute Air routes.[20]

In January 2018, Ravn Alaska received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to put in place a safety management system similar to those implemented by larger airlines across the USA.[21][22]

The Ravn Alaska fleet includes the following aircraft (as of May 2016):[2]

Ravn Alaska offered scheduled service to over 100 Alaskan cities and communities.[30] Among Ravn's newest destinations were regular routes to the Bristol Bay area, the first new destination for the airline in six years.[31] The inaugural flight from Dillingham and King Salmon to Anchorage took off on February 16, 2018.[32]

Beginning on January 14, 2011, Discovery Channel's Flying Wild Alaska showcased Era Alaska's daily operations. It aired until July 20, 2012, totaling 31 episodes over three seasons.[33]

• November 8, 1997 – Hageland Aviation Flight 500 was a Cessna Caravan 675B crashed. After the NTSB report, investigators determined there were multiple causes of the crash, including icing, weight imbalance and pilot error.[34] The accident killed all 8 passengers and crew on board.
• December 9, 2002 – During a Raytheon Pre-purchase Flight, a Beechcraft 1900C crashed after running into a mountain in western Arkansas. The accident killed all 3 pilots on board, including Ron Tweto, President of Hageland Aviation Services.
• January 6, 2011 – A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan passenger plane, registered N715HE, sustained substantial damage in a landing accident at Kipnuk Airport, AK (KPN), USA. None of the four passengers or two crew members were injured. The airplane operated on Hageland flight 161 from Bethel Airport, AK (BET) to Kipnuk Airport, AK (KPN).
• October 23, 2013 – A Beechcraft 1900C, operated by Era Aviation experienced a landing gear failure and slid to a stop on its belly at the Homer Airport. No injuries were reported.[35]
• November 29, 2013 – Four people were killed when Flight 1453 crashed near the village of St. Mary's. Among the fatalities were the pilot, Terry Hanson, 68, and three residents of Mountain Village: Rose Polty, 57, Richard Polty, 65, and Wyatt Coffee, five months old. Six more passengers were injured. The flight originated from Bethel.[36]
• August 31, 2016 – A Ravn Connect Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX collided with a Renfro's Alaskan Adventures Piper Super Cub during a flight from Russian Mission Airport to Marshall Airport in Alaska. The five people on board the two aircraft lost their lives.[37]
• October 2, 2016 – Three people were killed when a Ravn Alaska Cessna 208B crashed near Togiak, Alaska. There were no survivors.[38]
• October 17, 2019 – PenAir flight 3296, (owned and operated by Ravn Alaska)[39] a Saab 2000, N686PA, on a scheduled flight from Anchorage to Unalaska, went off the runway after landing at the Unalaska Airport, teetering over a bank toward a nearby body of water. The left propeller was destroyed and at least part of one blade entered the passenger cabin. An eyewitness reported high winds at the time of the accident. There were 39 passengers, including a high school swim team from Cordova, Alaska, and three flight crew aboard the flight. One confirmed fatality, two passengers were critically injured, with 10 more receiving medical care at a local hospital. There was no fire.[40][41][42]

• Buffalo Airways (another airline with a reality TV show based around it)

• Official website