Six people were killed when a sightseeing floatplane crashed in southeast Alaska on Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement that an emergency alert beacon registered to a de Havilland Beaver aircraft was activated near the Misty Fjords area at 11:20 a.m. and a helicopter reported sighting wreckage on a ridgeline. Officials say a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew located the wreckage about eight miles northeast of Ketchikan at about 2:37 p.m. The crew lowered two rescue swimmers down to the wreckage, but they reported that there were no survivors. Weather conditions at the scene were 8 mph winds, visibility of two miles, ceilings of 900 feet with a mist, and light rain.
One pilot and five passengers were reportedly aboard the aircraft owned by Southeast Aviation LLC, the Coast Guard says. Holland America Line confirmed on Twitter that the five passengers on the floatplane were guests on one of their cruise ships, the Nieuw Amsterdam.
“It was an independent tour not sold by Holland America Line. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims,” wrote the cruise company.
The occupants killed in the plane crash were not immediately identified.
Similar accidents have occurred in the Ketchikan area over the last few years. On the 4th May 2015, a Cessna A185E Skywagon, N4573F, capsized on landing at the dock sustaining slight damage, no injuries were reported to the five occupants. *Then on the 13th May 2019, six people were killed after two floatplanes planes, a de Havilland Canada DHC-3T Vazar Turbine Otter N959PA and a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk I N952DB, collided midair. Both flights were converging on a scenic waterfall before returning to the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base.
* Both incidents involved cruise ship passengers.
Aircraft Information:
Owner / Operator: Snow Mountain Enterprises LLC
Aircraft: de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk 1
Registration: N1249K
Serial Number: 1594
Engines: Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior piston engine
First Flew: 1965
Age: 56 Yrs
Thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends
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