PenAir’s director of operations retires

ALASKA NEWSPAPERS STAFF

February 29, 2008 at 8:56AM AKST

The exit of PenAir’s director of operations has hailed changes in key positions within the company.

Richard Harding has retired after working for PenAir for 30 years, and the company’s chief pilot, Bryan Carricaburu, has been promoted to fill the position of director of operations.

Harding began his career with PenAir in 1970 in King Salmon. He moved to Anchorage in 1984 to open the Anchorage base. Among other accomplishments, Mr. Harding was instrumental in founding the Medallion Foundation, a nonprofit aviation safety organization that provides management resources, training and support of the Alaska aviation community.

Carricaburu has worked for PenAir for 33 years, first working in King Salmon and Cold Bay before moving to Anchorage. He helped bring the first turbine aircraft to PenAir – the Cessna Conquest II, which was used during the startup of the Anchorage base operations.

He began flying in high school in southern California. He served in the Navy and then attended San Jose State University before moving to Alaska in 1974. He commutes daily between Wasilla and Anchorage in his single engine Piper Warrior.

PenAir also promoted Duffy Jensen to the position of PenAir’s chief pilot. Jensen is a longtime Alaskan who was raised in King Salmon. He joined PenAir in 1971 and in 1977 moved to Cold Bay to establish a new base of operations.

After spending a number of years in the construction industry, Jensen returned to PenAir in 1996 and has more than 21 years of service with the company.

PenAir, which employs more than 500 employees in Anchorage and throughout Southwest Alaska, recently acquired two new Saab 340 aircraft, bringing its total fleet to 10 Saab 340s and five Fairchild Metroliners.

Monte Gates, who has been with the company for 16 years, is chief pilot overseeing PenAir’s Saab flight operations. Ben Durkee, who started flying for PenAir in 2003, has been promoted to Metro chief pilot overseeing the Metro flight crews and flight operations.