Off Radar has just learned that a Shore Excursion sightseeing plane carry passengers from a Holland America Line cruise ship sadly crashed with the loss of 9 lives in the area of east Alaska.
In all, 8 passengers from the Westerdam ship were caught up in he fatality, along with the pilot of the aircraft.
The wreckage has been located by rescue teams, situated approximately 250 meters above the Ella Lake, north-east of the town of Ketchikan.
We understand that bad weather forced the suspension of recovery efforts late on Thursday 25th June 2015, with further attempts to be made on Friday 26th June 2015.
The Westerdam cruise ship on a 7-day itinerary that home-ported in Seattle.
The company involved Promech Air, an airline based in Ketchikan, operated the air-excursion, which was promoted and sold on board through Holland America Line.
So far the exact cause of the the DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop crash is unknown, apart from bad weather.
