NOTN- A plane crash in Southeast Alaska sent one person to the hospital Thursday morning.
The U.S. Coast Guard received a report just after 10 a.m. of a downed aircraft near Shelter Island in Lynn Canal, KINY was sent a note from an internal source close to 12:00 p.m., as of yet the pilot’s condition has not yet been released.
The plane, operated by Ward Air, was carrying only the pilot.
The pilot was pulled from the water by another Ward Air seaplane and taken to a hospital for treatment, there are unconfirmed claims that the pilot may have suffered a head injury, though this is currently hearsay.
It’s been reported the plane was a float plane, but an unnamed source has said it was a Wheel Plane, specifically a CESSNA 206, KINY is unable to substantiate that claim, Ward Air representatives declined to comment when contacted by phone this afternoon.
training exercise at the Juneau International Airport, Photo provided by CBJ
NOTN- The Juneau International Airport will conduct a full-scale emergency response exercise on Saturday, July 26, simulating an aircraft crash and live fire response. The exercise will run from approximately 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is part of required Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety training.
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon says residents can expect to see visible black smoke and flames on the airport grounds as part of the simulation.
“They’ll be conducting a simulated airport crash and live fire training to allow everybody to get a chance to play all their roles. So this will be controlled burning of fuel, which will produce black smoke to replicate a real world aircraft fire, and so there will be a lot of emergency response vehicles in and around the airport. But again, there’s no danger to the public.”
The exercise is being conducted in coordination with local emergency response agencies and the burning complies with Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) open burning guidelines, which allow limited black smoke emissions for firefighter training purposes. Airport officials say all reasonable efforts are being made to limit environmental impact and minimize the duration of smoke.
To support the drill, Mayor Weldon says the Airport Dike Trail parking lot off Radcliffe Road will be closed to the public, “airport dyke trail parking lot will be closed from 5pm on Friday, July 25 to 1pm on Saturday, July 26 So, and that’s usually one of their staging areas. So just be aware, if you’d like to walk that trail, you might pick a different trail to walk Saturday morning or walk in the afternoon.”
Airport authorities thank the public for their cooperation and understanding as they conduct this important safety training.
