A chartered de Havilland Canada DHC-3T Turbo Otterfloat-equipped airplane crashed in a remote part of Alaska on Tuesday morning, but after a brief search by the U.S. Coast Guard, all 11 people on board were rescued. They were airlifted out by a USCG Jayhawk helicopter. Some were taken to a medical center in Ketchikan, but no details about their condition have been released. The airplane went down on Prince of Wales Island, near Hetta Inlet, at about 2,000 feet of elevation, on heavily forested Mount Jumbo. The island is part of the Tongass National Forest.
Visibility was about one-quarter mile, but the pilot had made an SOS call, and rescuers were able to locate an emergency locator signal. “This could have been bad,” said USCG Petty Officer Charly Hengen. “Thankfully, it was a good outcome. Even though these people did sustain some injuries, we are very thankful that all are alive and that we were able to get to them quickly even with the weather conditions.”
