A small commercial aircraft with four people on board has crashed in Alaska, leaving three dead. The sole survivor is a 21-year-old woman who has been flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.
The survivor has been identified by the Alaska State Troopers as Morgan Enright of Ketchikan. She was initially taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau for treatment.
On April 8, the single-engine aircraft Cessna 206 crashed 20 miles southeast of Angoon village on Admiralty Island. Angoon is nearly 60 miles south of Juneau. The Admiralty Island is accessible through water or air and is famous for bears.
The aircraft, believed to have left Wrangell for Angoon when 23 mph winds were rushing to 34 mph according to the Coast Guard. Shawn Eggert, Petty Officer 1st Class, revealed that the commercial airplane crashed in a mountainous and snowy terrain, which is at an elevation of nearly 2,300 feet.
On April 8, a little prior to 10 a.m., the emergency beacon of the aircraft went off according to Eggert which alerted the Coast Guard of the distress. The exact timing of the crash is not known.
The activation of the beacon alerted a commercial helicopter, which diverted its path and spotted the wreckage of the Cessna 206. Simultaneously, the Coast Guard also launched its helicopter from its base Air Station Sitka.
Due to the high winds, the helicopters were unable to land at the site of the crash on Admiralty Island. However, the Coast Guard helicopter crew managed to lower Sitka Mountain Rescue team members to a nearby location to the crash site. The members hiked 400 feet up the mountain, navigating their way through snow to access the airplane.
Lance Ewers, captain Sitka Mountain Rescue, has revealed that the woman survivor's condition is not known. The other three people aboard the aircraft who died in the crash have been identified by troopers as 61-year-old Greg Scheff, 57-year-old Thomas Siekawitch and the 60-year-old pilot David Galla.
Wrangell-based Sunrise Aviation owns the six-passenger Cessna 206 commuter aircraft. Sunrise Aviation provides transportation to lodges, commercial boats, sightseeing flights and other services per its online site. Corporate records show that the pilot, Galla, was also the VP of the company. Sunrise Aviation has not commented on the incident.
It is not known at this juncture what may have led to the commercial aircraft's crash.
"At this time we don't have any indication as to what may have caused this crash," said Eggert.
Photo: Mike Beauregard | Flickr
