‘We haven’t seen crashes like this’
One Canadian among four killed in plane collision in Alaska
When the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad arrived at the site of a mid-air crash near Alaska’s George Inlet, they were disturbed to see the wreckage of two float planes bobbing in the water.
“I saw the Beaver plane upside down, and the Otter, and they were both near the shore,” rescue commander Jerry Kiffer said Monday night. One Canadian is among at least four people dead after two sightseeing planes collided Monday afternoon. All were passengers on a side trip off the Royal Princess cruise ship, which left Vancouver on Saturday.
“It’s been a lot of wreckage and it’s not very normal,” Kiffer said. “We haven’t seen crashes like this, and I don’t expect very many people to survive.”
Kiffer said an Allen Marine Tours boat called in the alert. The family-owned company, which operates day cruises out of the small city of Ketchikan, declined to comment on Tuesday.
“From my knowledge, tourist boats in the area really helped in the difficult time,” Kiffer said.
One of the planes, a singleengine de Havilland Otter DHC-3 operated by Taquan Air, was carrying 10 passengers and a pilot back from Misty Fjords National Monument. One person died in the crash.
The pilot and nine passengers on the Otter were able to make their way to shore and were rescued, U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Michael Kahle told reporters.
The other single-engine plane, a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver operated by Mountain Air Service, was carrying four passengers and a pilot. Three people from that plane are dead, including the pilot. Princess Cruises released a statement Tuesday saying the three confirmed dead were all American. Two people were still missing as of Tuesday night: a Canadian and an Australian.
The Mountain Air Service website identifies local Ketchikan resident Randy Sullivan as the sole pilot of the small family-operated tour company. On Tuesday, family and friends posted memorial messages for Sullivan online. One Facebook post from Monday included a picture of a woman with a man identified as Sullivan, bearing the caption: “Had a beautiful Misty Fjords with Randy Sullivan today!” By Tuesday afternoon, people were using the post to share their condolences.
The volunteer rescue squad was scheduled Tuesday to conduct a dive for bodies in the area where the Mountain Air flight went down.
Taquan Air said the company has suspended operations while the crash is being investigated. “There are no words other than we are heartbroken over this loss,” the company said in a Tuesday statement. “We are focused now on extending our full support to our passengers and their families, along with first responders and other agencies.”
A Washington, D.C.-based investigative team from the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to arrive in Ketchikan on Tuesday afternoon to investigate the collision, agency spokesperson Peter Knudson said.
Global Affairs Canada released a statement Tuesday confirming one Canadian had died in Alaska.