ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Jurors in Anchorage began hearing testimony this week in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Petr Kellner, a Czech billionaire who was among five people killed in a March 2021 heli-skiing helicopter crash near the Knik Glacier.
Kellner, 56, was the richest man from the Czech Republic at the time of his death with a net worth of $17.5 billion.
He was one of three international clients aboard an Airbus AS350-B3 helicopter operated by Wasilla-based Soloy Helicopters LLC during a snowboarding trip booked through Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, according to federal investigators.
Petr Kellner, the richest man in the Czech Republic, was killed in a heli-skiing crash in Alaska in March 2021.(Courtesy PPF Bank)
Also killed were pilot Zachary Russell, 33, of Anchorage; guide Sean McManamy, 38, of Girdwood; guide Gregory Harms, 52, of Colorado; and client Benjamin Larochaix, 50, of the Czech Republic.
The family’s lawsuit alleges Kellner survived the initial impact and was conscious after the crash, but died before rescuers arrived because operators failed to promptly recognize the helicopter was down and initiate an emergency response.
According to the complaint filed in Anchorage Superior Court, the helicopter crashed March 27, 2021, while attempting to maneuver over a ridgeline about 21 miles southeast of Palmer. The suit says the helicopter’s GPS data stopped near the wreckage around 6:36 p.m., and that it took nearly three hours for another helicopter to locate the crash site after being dispatched to investigate the aircraft’s last known coordinates.
The NTSB believes the helicopter impacted terrain about 15 to 20 feet below the top of a ridgeline. They add that debris from the crash fell about 900 ft downslope from the top of the ridgeline.(National Transportation Safety Board)
The lawsuit names Soloy Helicopters, Triumvirate LLC — which does business as Tordrillo Mountain Lodge — and Third Edge Alaska LLC, a guiding and operations company that was administratively dissolved in 2022. The suit was filed by Wayne Eski, the personal representative of Kellner’s estate, on behalf of Kellner’s wife, Renata Kellnerova, and his surviving children.
Federal investigators concluded the crash was caused by pilot error during a whiteout encounter. In its final report released in 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot failed to adequately respond after losing visual reference in blowing snow as he attempted to land on a ridgeline above the Knik Glacier.
During testimony on Friday, heli-ski operations expert witness Marc Schoenrank was asked whether he believed Russell had enough experience to handle the operation that day.
“I think given my experience, I would be concerned that he would not have that,” Schoenrank said.
In cross examination, the defense questioned Schoenrank’s specific heliskiing operations experience in Alaska or anywhere else in the United States, which he conceded to not having any outside of Canada.
Investigators said the helicopter did not show signs of mechanical problems before the crash.
The NTSB also detailed delays in activating an emergency response plan. The agency reported the “flight follower” assigned to track the helicopter waited 41 minutes after the last recorded signal before notifying a supervisor, and that it was 1 hour, 50 minutes before the lodge’s flight team notified Soloy the aircraft was overdue.
The NTSB said a rescue team reached the scene about 5 hours and 40 minutes after the crash.
The wrongful death complaint alleges the operators failed to monitor the helicopter’s location and status, failed to maintain constant contact with the pilot and guide, and failed to follow preflight plans and check-in procedures that should have triggered an immediate response.
It also alleges an emergency locator transmitter installed in the helicopter did not activate after impact. The device is intended to send a distress signal following a crash.
The lawsuit claims that if the helicopter had been tracked properly — or if the emergency locator transmitter had functioned — operators and rescuers would have been alerted sooner and could have reached Kellner in time to provide medical aid. The suit alleges Kellner died from “survivable injuries” and seeks damages and punitive damages.
Kellner was considered one of Europe’s richest men at the time of his death.
A separate lawsuit has been filed by the crash’s lone survivor, Czech snowboarder David Horváth. Horváth told Alaska’s News Source in 2024 he was trapped in the wreckage for hours and last saw Kellner walking outside after the crash.
The NTSB said it could not determine whether an earlier rescue would have saved the other passengers, but the agency’s medical team concluded a quicker rescue would have reduced the survivor’s injuries.
The civil case is expected to continue with additional testimony.
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