Small aircraft goes down in shallow water near remote Alaskan town
A light plane crashed into shallow water beside Seldovia, Alaska, and rescuers had to wait for the tide to recede before reaching the wreck.
Shortly after taking off from Seldovia Airport, a Piper PA-24-260 aircraft crashed into the shallow waters of the nearby Seldovia Slough, submerging in about 15 feet of water. The plane, which can seat between one and four people, left authorities uncertain about the passenger count and whether anyone survived. State troopers stayed on the shoreline awaiting the tide's ebb to reach the submerged craft.
Clint Johnson, the NTSB's Alaska region chief, said investigators would assess the wreckage and determine the number of occupants once access is possible. The National Transportation Safety Board has taken charge of the probe. This mishap occurs less than a week after another Alaskan crash at a remote military airstrip that claimed eight lives.
Why it matters
The crash highlights the hazards of aviation in remote Alaskan communities and the challenges of emergency response in tidal environments.
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