Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Juneau, Alaska
Aircraft sank on Humpback Lake.
Date: 07-AUG-21
Time: 23:42:00Z
Regis#: N180S
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 180J
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: KETCHIKAN
State: ALASKA
The crash site — about 40 miles southeast of Ketchikan — is in the same vicinity as Thursday’s fatal sightseeing crash that claimed six lives.
The Cessna 180 that crashed on Saturday near a public recreational cabin at Humpback Lake was privately owned and not part of a charter tour, Coast Guard Petty Officer Melissa McKenzie said. A distress call via satellite phone was received at 2:45 p.m. shortly after the crash, she said, adding that the party was well-prepared for an emergency.
“They actually had a personal locator beacon that they were able to set off that basically led our responders to their exact location,” McKenzie told KRBD on Saturday evening . “And they also had a dry bag that had clothes and food that they took with them to the shore when they swam from the plane.”
A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka arrived at the the U.S. Forest Service cabin. A rescuer was lowered and hoisted the apparently uninjured people up. They were transferred to emergency personnel waiting in Ketchikan, she said.
It’s unclear what went wrong on takeoff. Weather conditions on scene were about 65 degrees with light winds. Visibility was about 10 miles with cloud ceilings at 5,000 feet.
“This case highlights the importance of having safety equipment that is accessible and in working order,” said Lt. Maren Balke, search and rescue mission coordinator at the Sector Juneau command center. “The pilot was able to call for help using a satellite phone shortly after the crash, and they also activated a personal locator beacon, which allowed our air crew to quickly respond to their exact location.”
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