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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A passenger plane crashed in southeast Alaska on Thursday, killing all six people on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The plane’s emergency alert beacon was activated at around 11:20 a.m. when the plane crashed in the Misty Fjords National Monument area near Ketchikan, the Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration said. . A helicopter company reported seeing wreckage on a ridge line in the search area, and Coast Guard crew members found the wreckage at around 2:40 p.m.
The identities of those killed in the crash were not immediately disclosed.
The five passengers on the flight were from the Holland America Line Nieuw Amsterdam cruise ship, the company said in a statement. The ship stopped Thursday in Ketchikan and delayed its departure in the afternoon after the plane crash.
“The seaplane tour was offered by an independent tour operator and not sold by Holland America Line,” the statement said.
Ketchikan is a popular stopover for cruise ships visiting Alaska, and cruise ship passengers can take a variety of sightseeing tours at the port.
The most popular among them are small plane flights to Misty Fjords National Monument, where visitors can see glacial valleys, snow-capped peaks and lakes in the wilderness.
In 2019, two passenger planes collided in midair, killing six of the 16 people aboard the two planes.
The plane involved Thursday, a de Havilland Beaver, was owned by Southeast Aviation LLC, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow said. A message left with the Ketchikan Tourism Company was not immediately returned to The Associated Press.
The company on its website says it offers tours of Misty Fjords National Monument and bear watching sites, as well as charter flights to other communities in Southeast Alaska.
The operator of the plane informed the coast guard that five passengers and a pilot were on board, Wadlow said.
Wadlow did not have details of when the plane took off. The weather conditions were a cloud ceiling of 274.32 meters (900 feet) with mist and light rain. Visibility was 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) and winds were 8 mph (12.87 km / h) according to the Coast Guard.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
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Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.
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