9 dead in sightseeing plane crash in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska --A sightseeing float plane carrying eight cruise ship passengers and a pilot crashed against the granite rock face of a southeast Alaska cliff Thursday, killing all 9 on board, Alaska State Troopers said.
Rescuers reached the crash site 800 feet above a lake and determined there were no survivors, the troopers said, adding that recovery of the bodies wouldn't begin until Friday due to inclement weather.
The DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop crashed under unknown circumstances above Ella Lake near Ketchikan, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email to The Associated Press.
Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters said troopers and the Ketchikan Volunteer Fire Department battled steep terrain while approaching the site.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Lauren Steenson said the agency received a report around 2:15 p.m. that the plane was overdue. Troopers said an emergency locator transmitter activated in the Misty Fjords National Monument, and a helicopter pilot spotted the downed aircraft above Ella Lake, about 800 miles southeast of Anchorage.
Promech Air, an airline based in Ketchikan, operated the shore excursion sold through Holland America Line, the cruise ship company said in a statement. The eight passengers are guests on the Westerdam, which is on a seven-day cruise that departed Seattle on Saturday.
"We are incredibly distressed by this situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with those onboard the plane and their families," said Holland America spokesman Erik Elvejord in a statement. "Holland America Line is extending its full support to traveling companions of the guests involved."
Troopers said names of the victims will not be released untilnext of kin have been notified, she said.
In a statement late Thursday, the NTSB told CBS News it was sending a "go-team" to investigate the crash.
The Ketchikan Daily News reported the Westerdam had been scheduled to leave the city, which is about 20 miles from the crash site, at 1 p.m. but remained in port Thursday evening.
Promech Air's website advertises tours of the 2-million-acre Misty Fjord National Monument in its float planes.
"Towering granite cliffs, 1,000-foot waterfalls, lush and remote valleys and serene crystalline lakes make up this incredible landscape," the website says.