NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report on a medevac airplane that crashed into the waters of Unalaska Bay last month.

While the early findings establish some of the facts surrounding the Jan. 16 crash, the chief of the NTSB's Alaska Regional Office said it's too soon to pinpoint the cause.

Since RavnAir Group's PenAir plane crash in October, Unalaskans haven't been able to use Alaska Airlines miles to book flights to or from Anchorage.

Now, City Manager Erin Reinders has hope the airlines are nearing a deal that'll let travelers use their stockpiled miles rather than shell out cash or forgo trips.

After weeks of uncertainty in the wake of last month's fatal plane crash, RavnAir Group has released flight schedules between Unalaska and Anchorage through May 31, 2020.

The PenAir flight that crashed at Unalaska's airport last month, killing one passenger, landed amid unfavorable, shifting winds, according to an initial federal report released Friday.

It was also captained by a pilot with relatively little experience at the controls of the Saab 2000 plane he was flying, the report said.

While Ravn Air Group has said it plans to resume Unalaska's regular flights sometime next week, airline officials haven't released any further details since they made that announcement one week ago.

"I'm not real confident in their date line," said City Councilor Shari Coleman.