Both On Board The Super Cub Fatally Injured In An Accident

Coast Guard personnel have located two men and the downed PA-18 Super Cub float plane that was reported overdue Saturday from Sitka, AK.

Just after 10 p.m. Sunday, an Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk crew located the downed aircraft in the Katlian River just beyond the mouth at Katlian Bay. A Cutter Bailey Barco small boat and crew arrived and removed one body from the wreckage. The second man was found deceased further down the Katlian River, Monday. Both were transferred to the Sitka Police Department and the Alaska State Troopers.

Coast Guard District 17 and Sector Juneau command center watchstanders received notification from the Juneau Flight Service Station that a white and red colored PA-18 Super Cub float plane departed the Sitka Seaplane Docks Saturday but never returned. The seaplane was supposed to fly for an estimated 20-minute tour of Katlian Bay and Olga Strait, just north of Sitka.

“Our rescue crews searched tirelessly for the men and the aircraft since receiving notification that it was overdue Saturday,” said Capt. Stephen White, Sector Juneau commander. “It’s with heavy hearts that we found the men deceased, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of these individuals during this difficult time.”

The Alaska State Troopers and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Other partners involved in the search efforts include the Civil Air Patrol, the Alaska Air National Guard, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Air Force, the Sitka Police and Fire Departments, and Sitka Mountain Rescue.

(Source: USCG news release. Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.uscg.mil