A seaplane carrying 11 people crashed and caught fire on the rocky coast of a vacation island north of Seattle, but a swift rescue by boat and air got everyone safely to hospitals.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday one person was in critical condition, and that patients suffered head injuries, broken bones and cuts. At least five of the passengers had been discharged from hospitals as of Friday. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
The crash came less than three weeks after a seaplane carrying eight people made a rough landing in New York City's East River, causing minor injuries.
Videos posted on social media of Thursday's crash show the aircraft banking to one side as it flies low over the water near several boats and the shore. The plane makes a hard landing, at first touching down on just one float, then briefly skips into the air before hitting land. The person recording the video gasps when a crunching sound is heard from the plane's impact just out of sight.
The plane was carrying a pilot and 10 passengers. It crashed at about 5:20 p.m. Thursday in the San Juan Islands, a rugged archipelago between Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. It is a popular summer vacation spot known for its ferries, whale watching and hiking.
First responders and witnesses race to the scene
People rushed in boats to help get everyone out of the downed aircraft. In the videos, passengers can be seen exiting the plane as black smoke rises before bright orange flames engulf the fuselage, which came to rest partially submerged against a large rock.
“An Urgent Marine Information Broadcast was issued to mariners in the area, and numerous good Samaritan vessels responded to assist,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Friday.
Sucia Island is an uninhabited state park north of the main San Juan Islands. It's known for its maze of coves, beaches and rocky points. The plane went down near Shallow Bay, which cuts a wide crescent into the island near a campground, and several large pleasure boats were anchored there Thursday.
At least five of the plane passengers were already discharged from two hospitals, said Amy Drury, a hospital spokesperson. Their identities have not been released.
The same type of seaplane crashed near Seattle in 2022
The plane's operator said it was a DHC-3 Otter made by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada. That's the same model of floatplane as one that plunged into the waters of Puget Sound northwest of Seattle in 2022, killing 10 people.
Federal regulators ordered seaplanes to be inspected afterward, and investigators found a single component of a critical flight control system had failed.
The plane that crashed Thursday was operated by Kenmore Air, a tourism airline based near Seattle, which is a different company than the one involved in the 2022 crash. Kenmore Air, the largest operator of DHC-3 Otter planes on Puget Sound, had said its aircraft passed inspection.
The cause of the crash will be investigated
A statement from the airline's chief said they would not speculate about why their plane went down.
“We are grateful that everyone aboard has been accounted for,” CEO David Gudgel said. He said the company canceled all scheduled flights for Friday and that Kenmore was cooperating with investigators.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate, and the National Transportation Safety Board will send a team Friday to investigate the crash. A spokesperson said the agency was still gathering information, so no media briefings were planned immediately.
The aircraft took off from Lake Union in Seattle, which is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Sucia Island, and was headed to Roche Harbor Seaplane Base on San Juan Island, the airline and FAA confirmed.
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire, and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press transportation reporter Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
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