Floatplane crash injures 4 people

Four people were seriously injured after a de Havilland Beaver float plane crashed Monday afternoon on Mirror Lake, south of Kokhanok, 35 miles south of Iliamna.

There were no fatalities.

The Beaver had six passengers and a pilot and taking off after a day’s fishing on Moraine Creek.

The crash “occurred during the airplane’s takeoff run,” said Mitchell Gallo, a senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. “It ended up on shore, that’s where it impacted, not too far in. We’re going to be talking to the pilot and passengers at some later point.”

The Beaver crashed upright, Gallo said

“We’re going to be looking at the wreckage and hopefully we’ll get some good data if any, if there was a GPS available on board, so we can use that for any performance calculations,” he said.

The Rescue Coordination Center launched an HH 60 Pave Hawk helicopter and an HC-130 fixed wing aircraft out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which arrived on scene a little after 8 p.m., about four hours after the crash.

One of the four injured passengers was flown directly to Providence Hospital in Anchorage, and the other three taken back to the joint base.

A representative of Rapids Creek Lodge in King Salmon said the crash happened after guests were being picked up from a standard day of sport fishing on Moraine Creek.

The lodge said they believed one of the four injured had already been released, and the others were listed in stable or better condition.

Mirror Lake is in a remote area of Katmai on the Alaska Peninsula in between Iliamna Lake and King Salmon.


Earlier story: ILIAMNA — A floatplane crash 35 miles south of Iliamna left four people seriously injured.

Staff Sgt. Ed Eagerton of the Alaska Air National Guard says the airplane with seven on board crashed as it attempted to take off from a body of water near Mirror Lake.

The airplane was a de Havilland Beaver owned by Rapids Camp Lodge Inc. of King Salmon.

The Air Guard sent a helicopter and airplane to assist the injured. The airplane refueled the helicopter in the air and the aircraft reached Iliamna at 8:20 p.m.

The helicopter transported the injured people to Iliamna. Three were transferred to the Air Guard’s HC130 King airplane and flown to Anchorage. The helicopter flew the fourth directly to Providence Hospital in Anchorage.

Iliamna is 225 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Associated Press

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