5 Die in Alaska Sightseeing Plane Crash
Pastor Dale Morgan
5 Die in Alaska Sightseeing Plane Crash *
Jul 25 08:21 AM US/Eastern
By RACHEL D'ORO
Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Two couples on a side-trip from an Alaska
cruise were killed when their sightseeing plane crashed in the mountains
of Misty Fjords National Monument, state police said Wednesday.
Coast Guard helicopter crews at the heavily forested site were told by
searchers late Tuesday that there were no survivors, Coast Guard Lt.
j.g. George Adams said.
The single-engine floatplane, a de Havilland Beaver, had left Ketchikan
shortly before 1:30 p.m. for a tour over Misty Fiords.
Alaska State Police said early Wednesday that pilot Joseph H. Campbell,
56, of Ketchikan, was flying the plane with cruise passengers William F.
Eddy and Jeanne J. Eddy, both 59 and from Jacksonville, Fla.; and Paul
J. McManus, 60, and Marianne M. McManus, 56, of Leicester, Mass.
A dispatcher for Taquan Air, the Ketchikan-based flight operator,
reported the plane missing after trying to contact the pilot for 20
minutes without success, said Len Laurance, a Taquan spokesman.
Searchers spotted the wreckage in the area where an aircraft distress
signal had been picked up, near the south arm of Rudyerd Bay about 35
miles northeast of Ketchikan. Early reports put the plane at an
elevation of 2,400 feet, but Adams said the wing portion was located
higher than the fuselage, indicating that the aircraft slid down after
impact.
The four passengers had been traveling on the Sun Princess, a Princess
Cruise Lines ship that was on the second day of a seven-day trip from
Seattle. The vessel left Ketchikan two hours after its scheduled
departure of 4:30 p.m.
The cruise ship company, a division of Carnival Corp., has cut off
Taquan Air tours at this time, Princess spokeswoman Julie Benson said in
a prepared statement. Princess, based in Santa Clarita, Calif., also
notified the families of the passengers.