Aviation

On Sunday September 11^th, 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard successfully rescued the survivor of a plane crash that was located roughly 35 miles northwest of Juneau, Alaska.

Personnel at the Southeast Alaska Sector Command Center initiated the deployment of an MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew from Air Station Sitka at 5:38 p.m. responding to the most recent location signal from an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) alert in the vicinity of Excursion Inlet.

At 7:05 p.m., the aircrew successfully located the crash site of the single-engine fixed-wing aircraft. A rescue swimmer was lowered and skillfully extracted the sole occupant on the aircraft. The survivor was transferred in critical condition to awaiting local emergency medical services stationed at the Juneau International Airport.

Coast Guard personnel have located the wreckage of a missing PA-18 Super Cub float plane that was reported overdue.

Two men departed at approximately 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, June 10th for what was to be a 20-minute flight over Katlian Bay and Olga Strait. When they did not return, a search was launched by the Coast Guard. An Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was deployed as well as a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter. The Coast Guard located the wreckage shortly after 10:30 p.m. in the Katlian River near the bay.

It is with great sadness that we report neither of the two men survived. The pilot has been identified as 45-year-old Stonie Huffman of Sitka, Alaska. He had been the owner of Frontier Charters and Lodge for 15 years. The passenger was 66-year-old James Ronge of Turlock, California.

Articles Posted in Aviation

Plane Crash Survivor Rescued in Alaska

Coast Guard Finds Wreckage of Missing Aircraft Near Sitka