JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Federal investigators were expected to arrive Saturday at the site of a plane crash in southeast Alaska that killed the pilot and injured four passengers.
Rescuers planned to try again to recover the body of pilot Fariah Peterson of Birmingham, Alabama, said Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.
The Cessna 207, operated by Wings of Alaska, departed from Juneau and was headed to the community of Hoonah when it went down Friday afternoon.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to arrive at the site to look into what caused the single-engine aircraft to crash.
Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau said two passengers were airlifted to a Seattle trauma center. Sandra Herrera Lopez of Juneau was in serious condition, and Ernestine Hanlon-Abel of Hoonah was in critical condition.
Two others, Humberto Hernandez-Aponte of Juneau and Jose Vasquez of Puerto Rico, were admitted to the Juneau hospital and listed in stable condition.
Wings of Alaska flies scheduled passenger service to small southeast Alaska communities. Its services also include sightseeing trips and charters. Company executive vice president Tim Seiber said the flight involved was a scheduled flight.
The crash came less than a month after a sightseeing floatplane crashed in a mountainous area in southeast Alaska, killing all nine people on board.
The excursion was sold through the cruise company Holland America and operated by Ketchikan-based Promech Air.
