U.S. Coast Guard crew searches for survivors from a downed aircraft in the vicinity of George Inlet near Ketchikan, Alaska, on May 13, 2019.HANDOUT/Reuters
The U.S. Coast Guard says two more bodies have been recovered after a midair collision between two small planes carrying cruise ship passengers near Ketchikan, Alaska.
The crash, which took place near George Inlet at about 1 p.m. local time on Monday, killed six people people, including one Canadian, and injured 10 others.
Mid-air collision between two small planes near Ketchikan, Alaska, has killed six people
ALASKA
Yukon
NWT
Anchorage
B.C.
Detail
0
400
Vancouver
KM
George Inlet
Ketchikan
International
Airport
Ketchikan
Gravina
Island
0
5
KM
Annette
Island
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN;
OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS; HIU
Mid-air collision between two small planes near Ketchikan, Alaska, has killed six people
ALASKA
Yukon
NWT
Anchorage
B.C.
Detail
0
400
Vancouver
KM
George Inlet
Ketchikan
International
Airport
Ketchikan
Gravina
Island
0
5
Annette
Island
KM
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN; OPENSTREETMAP
CONTRIBUTORS; HIU
Mid-air collision between two small planes near Ketchikan, Alaska, has killed six people
0
5
KM
George Inlet
Ketchikan
International
Airport
Ketchikan
Gravina
Island
ALASKA
Yukon
NWT
Anchorage
B.C.
Detail
Annette
Island
0
400
Vancouver
KM
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN; OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS; HIU
The discovery of the two bodies late Tuesday closes the search at the scene, U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Matthew Schofield.
The nationalities of the people involved in the crash included 14 Americans, one Canadian and one Australian, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday in a statement.
Elsa Wilk, a 37-year-old woman from Richmond, B.C., has been identified as the Canadian killed.
The American victims identified were 46-year-old pilot Randy Sullivan from Ketchikan, 62-year-old Cassandra Webb, 39-year-old Ryan Wilk and 46-year-old Louis Botha.
State troopers said the Australian was 56-year-old Simon Bodie.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the crash, which involved a Beaver float plane carrying five people, including a pilot, and a larger Otter float plane carrying 11 people, including a pilot.
Three of those found dead were aboard the Beaver plane. A fourth deceased person was a passenger of the Otter plane, and the body was recovered during a Monday night search, Coast Guard commander Michael Kahle said at a news conference Tuesday.
The pilot and nine passengers on the Otter were able to make their way to shore, where they were rescued and taken to hospital, he said.
All of the passengers were traveling with Princess Cruises, which runs tours between Vancouver and Alaska.
Sightseeing excursions are often part of a cruise tour package or can be arranged along the way.
In a statement Tuesday, Princess Cruises said one aircraft, operated by Taquan Air, was flying a shore excursion sold through Princess Cruises. That aircraft, the Otter, was returning from a tour of Misty Fjords, a local attraction.
The second float plane involved was operating an independent flight tour carrying four additional guests from Royal Princess along with a pilot.
In its statement, Princess Cruises said it was deeply saddened by the incident and was extending its support to investigating authorities and to families and traveling companions of people involved.
Taquan Air did not make a representative available to comment but in a statement on its website said it was devastated by the accident. Taquan Air has suspended all scheduled flights and is co-operating with authorities to “examine every aspect of this event,” the company said.
The cruise left Vancouver on May 11 and is scheduled to arrive in Anchorage on May 18, Princess said.
The deadly accident will bring heightened scrutiny to how cruise ship companies and float plane operators provide sight-seeing trips to cruise ship passengers.
There have been at least two other incidents.
According to NTSB investigation reports, on July 24, 2007, a float plane operated by Venture Travel, doing business as Taquan Air Services, collided with terrain, killing the pilot and all four passengers.
The 2007 NTSB report into that accident determined the probable cause of the accident was the “pilot’s decision to continue under visual flight rules" rather than follow the plane’s flight instruments.
That 2007 report made several recommendations, including installing weather cameras at critical areas of popular tour sites.
In another incident, on June 25, 2015, a float plane hit mountainous, tree-covered terrain north of Ketchikan. The pilot and eight passengers were killed.
According to an NTSB report, the airplane in that incident was owned by Pantechnicon Aviation of Minden, Nev., and operated by Promech Air Inc. of Ketchikan.
In its report on the 2015 accident, the NTSB said Promech’s culture “tacitly endorsed flying in hazardous conditions” and noted a lack of “conservative weather minimums” for Ketchikan air tour operators.
“The Ketchikan air tour industry is competitive, and, on the day of the accident, Promech and other operators that were willing to take the most weather risks were able to fly more revenue passengers,” the report said.
Taquan acquired Promech’s Alaskan assets in 2016.
Investigators have not said what factors may have been involved in this week’s crash.
The NTSB’s report into the 2015 crash included a recommendation to the Cruise Line Industries Association (CLIA) that it “encourage members that sell air tours as shore excursions to review the circumstances of this accident and to consider ways to mitigate associated risks.”
A CLIA spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
With a report from The Canadian Press and Reuters
Wendy Stueck