Second Day Focused On Recovery Of The Wreckage Of The Two Airplanes

The NTSB held a second press briefing Wednesday to provide an update on its investigation of a mid-air collision between a Taquan Air DHC-3 Otter and a Mountain Air DHC-2 Beaver which occurred on Monday. The number of fatalities in the accident has been increased to six, as the bodies of the two missing people have been recovered.

NTSB member Jennifer Homendy said that the process of recovering the wreckage got underway Wednesday. She said the Otter was lying in about 75 feet of water some 50 feet from shore, while the Beaver was upside down in the water on the other side of the inlet. There was a large amount of debris on the mountainside near the accident scene.

The Taquan Air airplane had been recovered and placed on a barge at the time the briefing was held, while the Mountain Air plane was still being recovered. Both were moved to a hangar in Ketchikan, where the aircraft will be reassembled to the best of their ability.

During the news briefing, Homendy reviewed the course, altitude and speed information from both aircraft. She said that the board will possibly do a study focused on the visibility from both cockpits to determine what the pilots were able to see, and if their vision may have been obstructed during the accident sequence.

She added that additional interviews were being conducted among the passengers and others, and those interviews would continue while the team was in Alaska and beyond.

She said a preliminary report will be available in about two weeks.

(NTSB image)

FMI: Briefing video