Tour-plane crash in Alaska takes 6 lives
JUNEAU, Alaska — Poor weather conditions hindered efforts to recover the bodies of six people killed when a sightseeing plane crashed in southeast Alaska, Alaska troopers said Friday.
The plane crashed Thursday as the pilot was returning five passengers to Ketchikan from Misty Fjords National Monument, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The plane’s emergency beacon was activated about 11:20 a.m. when it crashed near the monument, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
A helicopter company reported seeing wreckage on a ridgeline in the search area, and Coast Guard crew members found the wreckage around 2:40 p.m. A Coast Guard helicopter lowered two rescue swimmers to the site, and they reported no survivors, the agency said.
The victims have not been identified, and troopers were working with volunteers from the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad to coordinate recovery efforts.
“Poor weather conditions and deteriorating visibility in the Ketchikan and Misty Fjords area have prevented the Alaska State Troopers and volunteers from the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad from conducting any recovery efforts this morning,” troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said in an email Friday to The Associated Press.
All five passengers were on an excursion off the Holland America Line cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam. The company was making counseling services available to guests and crew, it said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a crew to investigate the crash. The FAA also is investigating.