Four people died Wednesday when a small plane crashed into shallow waters near the remote Alaskan town of Seldovia. The Piper PA-24-260 went down at 1:15 p.m. local time, just moments after departing from the Seldovia airport, according to Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska region chief. The aircraft became submerged in approximately 15 feet of water in the Seldovia Slough. First responders faced challenges reaching the plane in the frigid conditions.
As the tide receded, Alaska State Troopers were able to recover four bodies from the wreckage around 6:30 p.m. The identities of the deceased have not yet been released. The state medical examiner's office will conduct autopsies, and the NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash.
This incident occurred less than a week after another plane crash in western Alaska, which resulted in the deaths of all eight individuals on board. That aircraft was attempting its second approach to a runway in heavy fog, and authorities reported that the pilots could not see the airstrip.