Four people died in Alaska when a Piper PA-24 crashed into Seldovia Slough near Seldovia Airport on Wednesday. The plane was inbound from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage and ended up submerged in 13 to 17 feet of water.
Clint Johnson, Alaska region chief for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the aircraft went down just after 1:15 p.m. Troopers received a report at 1:18 p.m., and people at the scene tried to reach the plane and rescue anyone inside but could not reach it.
Chris Aadland and the response
Chris Aadland reported the breaking news of the crash and the recovery effort. Alaska State Troopers and Wildlife Troopers from Anchor Point responded on a patrol vessel, and the agency dispatched a helicopter from Anchorage.
By about 4:30 p.m., troopers had arrived at the crash site. At approximately 6:30 p.m., they extracted the four bodies after the tide level dropped, giving responders the access they needed to reach the submerged aircraft.
State Medical Examiner Office
The State Medical Examiner Office will conduct an autopsy, and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash. The sequence from impact to recovery left the key facts in one day: the plane went into the slough, responders could not get inside right away, and the bodies came out only after the water fell.
For people following the crash, the immediate next steps run through those two offices. The autopsy and the federal investigation will determine the condition of the victims and the cause of the crash, while the recovery work already showed how the tide shaped what responders could do at the scene.
