Seaplane accident in Alaska: 6 dead and 10 wounded after a crash in Ketchikan

KETCHIKAN, Alaska – The National Transportation Safety Board has announced that two tourist aircraft crashed in Alaska at about 1,300 meters (1,300 meters) after Tuesday's arrival of an elite squad. from Washington to investigate this accident.

The two planes collided in the air on Monday, killing six, the Coast Guard said.

The largest aircraft, a de Havilland Otter DHC-3 with 10 passengers and the pilot, had descended to 3,800 feet (1158 meters) and collided with a smaller de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, carrying four passengers from same cruise ship, the Royal Princess and the pilot.

The Alaska State Troopers confirmed the identity of the deceased, reports ABC News. They are:

Simon Bodie, 56, Tempe, New South Wales, Australia
Louis Both, 46 years old, from San Diego
Randy Sullivan, 46, of Ketchikan, Alaska, one of the pilots of the plane
Cassandra Webb, 62 years old, from Saint-Louis
Elsa Wilk, 37, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Ruan Wilk, 39, from Utah

The federal investigation into the cause of the accident could take months, but a preliminary report is expected to be released in two weeks, said Peter Knudson, spokesman for the NTSB.

Lieutenant-Colonel Brian Dykens of the Coast Guard said Tuesday night that his agency and the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Brigade had found two bodies near the crash site of the smaller aircraft involved in the collision, a single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.

The planes came down about a mile and a half away, with part of the debris field ashore, about 13 km from Ketchikan, near George Inlet.

The Beaver, the smallest plane, seems to have broken up in the air, according to Jerry Kiffer, commander of the operations at the incident site of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Brigade. He added that the tail and fuselage section of the aircraft were 275 meters from the floats of the aircraft, which landed near the shore.

The smaller aircraft was partially submerged on the George Inlet coast after the single engine aircraft overturned and struck trees before crashing, according to Lt. Brian Dykens of the Coast Guard. The biggest Otter landed in the water and sank, he said.

A passenger from the biggest plane died, as well as two passengers and the pilot of the smaller plane, Princess Cruises said in a statement.

Canadian officials said on Tuesday that one of its citizens was among the dead. Global Affairs Canada has expressed its condolences but has not identified the individual for confidentiality reasons.

The largest aircraft was operated by Taquan Air, Ketchikan, and passengers booked flights on the cruise ship as an excursion. The other plane was operated by Ketchikan's Mountain Air Service, and the four aircraft booked the flight independently of the cruise ship, Princess Cruises said.

After the accident, the 10 wounded were first taken to a hospital in Ketchikan. Four patients with fractures were later transferred to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, spokeswoman Susan Gregg said.

Three survivors were released Tuesday from PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center in Ketchikan. Hospital spokeswoman Marty West said the other three were in pretty good shape.

The Royal Princess left Vancouver, British Columbia on May 11 and was scheduled to arrive in Anchorage on Saturday.

ABC News contributed to this report.