Update at 9:30 p.m.
Three are confirmed dead after a de Havilland Otter floatplane taking off from East Wind Lake in Iliamna early Tuesday morning crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot and six others onboard survived with injuries.
The aircraft took off before daybreak, using Iliamna’s East Wind Lake.
At about 6:15 a.m., Alaska State Troopers were notified that the plane, operated by the Rainbow King Lodge, had crashed some 300-400 yards from the water’s edge.
One of two investigators arrived on scene Tuesday afternoon. Clint Johnson heads up the National Transportation Safety Board’s regional office in Alaska.
“My understanding is the airplane is roughly about a thousand yards from the departure end, in a stand of trees,” said Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s regional office in Alaska. “Obviously [there is] substantial damage to the aircraft, and that’s really all we know at this point.”
The NTSB began its investigation Tuesday, but Johnson would not speculate on the cause of the crash.
One factor that will be considered is that the plane took off in the darkness of the early morning, an uncommon practice.
Bristol Bay’s many sport fish lodges compete to get clients to a handful of rainbow trout hotspots first, often aggressively.
Staff at other Bristol Bay lodges said Tuesday they never fly clients in the dark, yet the Rainbow King Lodge plane sat wrecked an hour and a half before sunup.
“Departure time, weather conditions, daylight conditions, water conditions, there’s a whole host of things we’re going to be looking at,” Johnson said. “It’s way too early to draw anywhere near a conclusion.”
Killed in the crashed were Tony Degroot, 80, and James Fletcher, 70, both from California, and James Specter, 69, of Pennsylvania. Some of the surviving seven passengers were injured severely, authorities said.
Trooper Joseph Minnick is based in Iliamna and received the call reporting the crashed plane. Minnick said volunteers from two nearby villages came in a hurry to help.
“With an amazing show of support, most of the community of Iliamna-Newhalen were on scene to hike the roughly 400 yards through the tundra to get to the crash site,” he said. “With their efforts, we were able to transport the injured from the site and get them to the local clinic for treatment.”
Sue Anelon, a longtime community health aide, was among the many helping hands who aided in pulling the wounded from the plane.
“We had to load them on gurneys and get them packed out,” she said, noting that the ATVs proved unhelpful.
Two of the wounded were able to walk away from the wreck site, and the rest were carried to the village clinic. An Air National Guard C-130 transported them to Anchorage.
Emma Hill lives just across East Wind Lake and could see the crumpled wings sticking up when she woke up this morning.
“Everybody is sad, I mean, it’s just tragic and even if we don’t know the people, it’s still lives taken and people hurt,” she said. “And the people who have to respond to such an emergency, it really affects them. It’s just sad.”
The Rainbow King Lodge could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Next of kin of the deceased have been notified.
Update 5:52 p.m.
The names of the three deceased passengers have been released. The bodies of Tony W. Degroot, 80 of Hanford, California; James P. Fletcher, 70 of Clovis, California; and James Specter, 69 of Shavertown, Pennsylvania have all been recovered and will be transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy. The NTSB will conduct an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the crash.
Original story
Three are confirmed dead after a de Havilland Otter float plane taking off from East Wind Lake in Iliamna early Tuesday morning crashed shortly after takeoff.
The Otter was operated by the Rainbow King Lodge and had 10 passengers onboard. At about 6:15 a.m., Alaska State Troopers were notified that the plane had crashed some 300-400 yards from the water’s edge.
The surviving passengers are reported to be injured, but details on their conditions has not been released.
Officials believe plane had the pilot plus a mix of fishing clients and guides on board.
Illiamna-based Trooper Joseph Minnick was on scene Tuesday morning and described an incredible volunteer response from residents and other nearby lodge staff.
“It was an amazing show of support. Most of the community in Iliamna-Newhalen was on scene to hike the roughly 400 yards through the tundra to get to the crash site,” Minnick said. “And, with their efforts, we were able to transport the injured from the site and get them to the local clinic for treatment.”
Minnick says two of the injured passengers were able to walk out and the rest were assisted. All of the injured were medevaced by a Rescue Coordination Center C-130 back to Anchorage before noon.
Emma Hill lives just across East Wind Lake from the crash site and could see the crumpled wings sticking up when she woke up this morning.
“Everybody is sad. I mean, it’s just tragic and even if we don’t know the people, it’s still lives taken and people hurt,” she said. “And the people who have to respond to such an emergency, it really affects them. It’s just sad.”
Rainbow King Lodge could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning. The identities of the deceased have not been released.
