2 passengers in critical condition after commercial plane nearly crashes into water on remote Alaska island (PHOTOS)
A botched landing at a remote Alaskan airport has left two people in critical condition, after a commercial plane went off the runway and crashed near a body of water.
The SAAB-Scania 2000, operated by Peninsula Airways, was carrying 39 passengers and three crew members when it went off the end of the runway at Unalaska-Dutch Harbor airport in the Aleutian Islands on Thursday evening.
Photographs show the airplane on a rock embankment, perilously close to a nearby body of water.
Dutch Harbor Thurs evening 10/17 by Erik Dahl pic.twitter.com/4XAD1YFi2L
— Dave Kitaq Nicolai, aka “Ban the Nazis” (@kitaq) October 18, 2019
Switching stories to a plane crash that happened this evening in the Unalaska/Dutch Harbor area. We'll have the latest at 10 on @ch2ktuu. pic.twitter.com/xYHp7CbspX
— Beth Verge (@ktuubeth) October 18, 2019
Two passengers were critically injured in the accident, while ten others received medical treatment, the plane’s operator said in a statement. A high school swim team was reportedly on board, but a school official said that all his students were unharmed and were “eating pizza” after safely evacuating the aircraft.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. An investigation is currently underway, with some officials flying in from as far away as Washington, DC to inspect the crash site. A resident who witnessed the crash said that high winds may have pushed the plane off the runway.
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