Two people aboard a Regal Air Beaver floatplane were seriously injured when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Lake Hood, near Anchorage, Alaska’s main airport on Tuesday, July 26. Five others aboard the aircraft escaped injury and were able to swim clear of the wreckage. The aircraft came to rest nose down in about five feet of water. Lake Hood is a busy seaplane base that’s immediately adjacent to Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage.
In a video sent to us by reader Jim Gilbertoni, the Beaver is shown departing one of two water runways at Lake Hood, climbing slowly before nosing over back into the lake in what appears to be a stall. The aircraft was en route to Katmai National Park, about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage, according to an AP report.
Airport Police and Fire Chief Aaron Danielson told the AP that the pilot reported that a gust of wind struck the aircraft during takeoff and he was trying to correct when the aircraft crashed into the water. The pilot and passengers egressed on their own, but nearby bystanders jumped into the water to help.
