JUNEAU (AP) - Efforts to recover the wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed in Southeast Alaska last week, killing six people, were stymied again Monday by poor weather conditions, a National Transportation Safety Board official said.
Clint Johnson, chief of the agency’s Alaska region, said low clouds and fog continued to delay wreckage recovery efforts.
“They are ready to go as soon as they get a weather window,” he said of the team that will handle the work.
The wreckage is in a rugged, steep area that is heavily forested, at 1,800 feet to 2,000 feet “up on the side of a mountain,” Johnson said. The site near Mirror Lake is about 22 miles northeast of Ketchikan.
Investigators were conducting interviews in the case, he said.
The de Havilland Beaver, owned by Southeast Aviation, was returning to Ketchikan last Thursday from a tour of Misty Fjords National Monument when it crashed, Johnson said.
The plane’s emergency beacon was activated about 11:20 a.m. when it crashed, the U.S. Coast Guard said. A Temsco helicopter reported seeing wreckage on a ridgeline in the search area, and Coast Guard crew members found the wreckage around 2:40 p.m. A Coast Guard helicopter lowered two rescue swimmers to the site, and they reported no survivors.
The plane carried five passengers and the pilot. The Alaska State Troopers identified the pilot as Rolf Lanzendorfer, 64, of Cle Elum, Washington.
Troopers identified the passengers as Mark Henderson, 69, and Jacquelyn Komplin, 60, both of Napa, California; Andrea McArthur, 55, and Rachel McArthur, 20, both of Woodstock, Georgia; and Janet Kroll, 77, of Mount Prospect, Illinois.
The troopers reported Saturday that the bodies had been recovered.
Holland America Line confirmed the five passengers had been traveling on the company’s ship Nieuw Amsterdam, which was nearing the end of seven-day Alaska cruise when it docked in Ketchikan.
Sightseeing excursions, such as those to Misty Fjords National Monument, are among the options for cruise passengers to explore the area while they are off the ship.
The flight operator, Southeast Aviation, released a statement last week saying it was cooperating with the agencies involved.
“All of us share in the anguish of this tragic incident, and our prayers go out to all affected,” the statement said.
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