Five Lost In Thursday Evening Air Tour Accident

A DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver float plane carrying nine people on a sightseeing tour in Alaska went down Thursday evening, killing five and injuring four.

Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters told reporters the plane (file photo of type shown at right) was reported down shortly after 6 pm local time, in an area called Traitors Cove north of Ketchikan.

Fire and rescue personnel from Ketchikan as well as private helicopters helped retrieve the survivors, including a two year-old girl, and get them to air ambulances for trips to Seattle hospitals for medical treatment.

The medical status of the survivors was not immediately known, nor were the identities of those involved, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

According to Coast Guard civilian controller Paul Webb burning wreckage was seen about 200 yards from the beach in a wooded area. He identified the plane's owners as Ketchikan-based SeaWind Aviation, a 'flightseeing' tour operation.

Peters said high winds had suddenly developed in the area around the time of the accident in conjunction with "a definite weather change" but it isn't known as of yet how weather may or may not have contributed to the accident.

It has also yet to be determined if the passengers were tourists or with a cruise.

This is the second aircraft accident in as many months in the Ketchikan region. As ANN reported, four Sun Princess cruise ship passengers on a sightseeing tour were killed when their plane, also a DHC-2, went down in a mountainous area July 24.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 345KA        Make/Model: DHC2      Description: DHC-2 Mk1 Beaver (U-6, L-20)
  Date: 08/16/2007     Time: 2316

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: KETCHIKAN                   State: AK   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE WERE 9 PERSONS ON
  BOARD, 5 WERE FATALLY INJURED, 4 SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES, 25 MILES NORTH
  OF KETCHIKAN, AK

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   5
                 # Crew:   9     Fat:   5     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   4
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: JUNEAU, AK  (AL05)                    Entry date: 08/17/2007

FMI: www.seawindaviation.com, www.faa.gov