(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - A Dehavilland Beaver operated by Promech Air out of Ketchikan went down in the trees near the southern end of Lake Galea due to engine complications Wednesday. The U.S. Coast Guard notified Alaska State Troopers of an emergency location beacon activation coming from a location near Thorne Bay on the Prince of Wales Island around noon Wednesday.

Two of the four people on board were the first to be medevaced by a United States Coast Guard helicopter to the Ketchikan Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. By 4:15 pm, all passengers had been removed from the crash site and medevaced to Ketchikan with only minor injuries reported.

Injured in the crash of the Dehavilland Beaver was the pilot who was identified as Charlie Kenlin, 65, of Florida.

The three passengers on board were Martin Lakey, 37, Michael D. Lakey, 65, and Rich Webster, 65, all of Washington.

“Our number one priority during this case was locating and medevacing the injured survivors of the crash,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Harkins, a watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Juneau. “One of the contributing factors to the success of this case was the emergency locator transmitter on the aircraft, which allowed our helicopter crew to get on scene in a short amount of time.”

A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, Klawock Search and Rescue and commercial air services responded to the crashed aircraft near Lake Galea on Prince of Wales Island.

Coast Guard 17th District command center watchstanders received the initial emergency locator transmitter distress signal around noon on Wednesday and directed the launch of the Jayhawk crew to the crash site.

Klawock Search and Rescue personnel initiated a ground response from the nearby town. A float plane from Promech Air relayed information on the state of the crash survivors to Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders.

The National Transportation Safety Board was notified.

Source of News: 

Alaska Department of Public Safety
www.dps.state.ak.us

United States Coast Guard
www.uscg.mil

SitNews ©2013
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources.