Small Airplane Crash in Alaska
A small airplane tragically crashed into shallow waters near a remote coastal town in Alaska on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of all four individuals aboard, officials have reported.
The aircraft, identified as a Piper PA-24-260, was en route to an airport in Seldovia after departing from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage. The incident occurred around 1:18 p.m., according to a statement from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
Seldovia’s airport is located about 136 miles southwest of Anchorage.
“Alaska State Troopers were informed of a small plane crash in the Seldovia Slough,” the statement indicated.
A helicopter crew from Anchorage was dispatched to the scene, with additional troopers traveling by boat from Anchor Point.
After the accident, the plane became completely submerged in approximately 15 feet of water in the Seldovia Slough, as detailed by Clint Johnson, the chief for the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region.
Troopers had to wait for the tide to recede before they could access the aircraft.
Once the tide had lowered around 6:30 p.m., they managed to recover the bodies of the four adult victims from the plane.
The victims’ remains will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy, with names being released after next of kin are notified, per the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
At this point, it’s unclear what might have caused the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the situation.
This accident follows another plane crash that occurred the previous week at a remote military site in western Alaska, which resulted in the deaths of all eight people on board. That aircraft was making its second approach in heavy fog, and officials stated that the pilots struggled to see the gravel airstrip.
In that earlier incident, the Cessna’s pilots were flying solely by instruments when the crash occurred. Regulations dictated that they should have aborted their initial landing attempt due to poor visibility; however, the plane crashed on its second attempt, just about a third of a mile from the runway.
