Last week, GCI lost one of our pilots, Chuck Nickerson, in a plane accident on Lake Nerka. Last summer, Chuck was my "personal pilot" for three days. He flew my Mom, Brad Yeary, Peter and me all over Southwest Alaska. He was a total delight - one of those fine old pilots who was a perfect gentleman, told great stories, and was exceptionally skillfull. It also turns out that Chuck and his wife were close neighbors of our closest friends - Mary and Lou Cassetta. Mary and Lou have been dead for many years - so discovering that Chuck knew Mary and Lou sort of brought them back for a short time. And now losing Chuck is a triple loss - not only did we lose Chuck but we lost Mary and Lou for a second time.
From the Thursday August 29th, Anchorage Daily News:
The man who died in a floatplane accident on a lake in Southwest Alaska on Tuesday afternoon was piloting the aircraft and may be the first work-related fatality suffered by General Communication Inc., a company spokesman in Anchorage said Wednesday.
Charles A. "Chuck" Nickerson, 63 of Anchorage was killed apparently while flying supplies from Dillingham 30 miles north to a GCI lodge and sportsfishing camp on Lake Nerka in Wood-Tickchik State Park, spokesman David Morris said.
Nickerson worked for GCI for two years, Morris said. The company is large but the corporate culture is personal, he said.
"I believe this is our first job-related death and I'll tell you, it's hitting the company hard," Morris said. "The family - our heart just goes out to them."
Nickerson had a huge number of hours of flying, Morris said. He was rated for single-engine, land and sea, multi-engine, jet engine and helicopters.
Here we all are in the cabin of the Magnum Beaver (in July of 2001)
From the front from left to right: Mom, Brad, me, and Peter who's hiding behind Mom.
The Magnum Beaver on the beach at Brooks Camp in Katmai.
Dave (a fabulous cook!) tieing the Beaver down, me coming down the float with
Chuck following behind:
9:04:53 PM 
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