Five dead, one missing and 10 injured after two tourist planes crash in mid-air over Alaska
- Five people have died and one is are missing after two floatplanes collided
- Another 10 people were injured in the crash near the Alaska town of Ketchikan
- Most of those involved were passengers on board the Royal Princess cruise ship
Five people are dead, one is missing and 10 others are injured after two floatplanes collided in mid-air Monday near the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the planes collided under unknown circumstances.
Eleven passengers were on a de Havilland Otter DHC-3. Ten of those passengers have been taken to a Ketchikan hospital. One patient is in critical condition, and the others are in fair or good condition.
Emergency response crews transport an injured passenger to an ambulance at the George Inlet Lodge docks
The two floatplanes collided in mid-air Monday near the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan
Five people were on a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.
It is believed the the 11th person on board the de Havilland Otter DHC-3, and everyone on the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver are the ones who have died or are missing.
Most of those involved were passengers on board the Royal Princess cruise ship, Anchorage Daily News reports.
A statement from Princess Cruises states 10 of its guests and a pilot were on board one plane, operated by Taquan Air which was returning from a Misty Fjords tour.
Five people were on a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. A file image of the same model of plane is seen above
The cruise company said four of its other guests were on a separate ship on an independent tour.
The Royal Princess was set to dock in Anchorage on May 18.
Cindy Cicchetti, a passenger on the ship, said the ship captain announced that two planes were in an accident Monday. She said the ship is not leaving as scheduled and there weren’t any details as to how the accident will affect the rest of the trip.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Weather conditions included high overcast skies with 9 mph (14 kph) southeast winds.