A fatal helicopter crash on Alaska’s remote North Slope claimed the lives of two men who were experts in their fields: Shiloh Schulte, 46, a shorebird biologist from Maine, and Jonathan Guibas, 54, an experienced helicopter pilot recently hired by a Wasilla-based aviation company.
The crash occurred on June 4 about 25 to 30 miles southwest of Deadhorse, near Kuparuk. The Robinson R66 helicopter, operated by Pollux Aviation, departed from Prudhoe Bay around 10:40 am under special visual flight rules clearance, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The aircraft was supporting a wildlife research mission when it went down.
Schulte, a senior scientist at Manomet Conservation Sciences based in Plymouth, Massachusetts, had traveled to Alaska for fieldwork. According to the organization, he was en route to deploy recording devices on shorebirds as part of an ongoing research effort. Schulte was known nationally for restoring populations of the American oystercatcher and for his broader work in shorebird conservation. He lived in Kennebunk, Maine, where he had previously served on the town’s Select Board, and was the father of two daughters…