ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Jurors entered the second week of a wrongful death trial Monday over a March 2021 heli-ski crash near the Knik Glacier that killed Czech billionaire Petr Kellner and four others, with dueling testimony focused on whether operators failed to launch an emergency response quickly enough — and whether those alleged failures violated rules or merely fell short of industry best practices.
The lawsuit, filed by the representative of Kellner’s estate on behalf of his family, alleges Kellner survived the initial impact but died before rescuers arrived because operators failed to promptly recognize the helicopter was down and initiate an emergency response.
Corey Taylor, a helicopter operations expert witness, testified that Tordrillo Mountain Lodge did not take key steps after the helicopter went missing.
“Did it send a reconnaissance flight or initiate its ERP?” the prosecution asked…