Alaskan seaplane crash causes fatalities

Megan Peters, with the department of public safety, identified the dead as Tony W. Degroot, 80, of Hanford, California; James P. Fletcher, 70, of Clovis, California; and James Specter, 69, of Shavertown, Pennsylvania. Troopers are still working to confirm the names of survivors, the agency said in an online update. It was a De Havilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter on floats, he said. Their bodies were recovered and were being sent for an autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office, troopers said. “Way too early for any speculation”, Johnson said.

Officials are still sorting through the details, but believe plane had the pilot plus a mix of fishing clients and guides on board.

The agency says injured passengers are being flown to Anchorage hospitals following the crash Tuesday near the small community of Iliamna (ill-ee-AHM’-nuh).

“In this case, weather and time was a factor”, Eagerton said.

Another Otter was involved in an August 2010 crash in Alaska that killed former U.S. Sen. “And, with their efforts, we were able to transport the injured from the site and get them to the local clinic for treatment”.

The cause of the crash was not yet known, .

Iliamna is about 175 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Rainbow King Lodge could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning, nor have the identities of the deceased been released. Rates for a six-day, six-night stay during the lodge’s operating season from June through September run about $8,350 per person.