A floatplane carrying 10 passengers and a pilot caught fire as it attempted to make an emergency landing in the waters off an island in Washington on Thursday, injuring several people on board, one of them in serious condition.
The single-engine de Havilland DHC-3 plane went down in Shallow Bay off Susya Island — about 90 miles north of Seattle and four miles from the Canadian border — at about 5:15 p.m. local time, about 45 minutes after taking off from Seattle. The US Coast Guard told Fox 13 News.
The floatplane, owned by Kenmore Air, was trying to make an emergency landing before it caught fire.
The video shows the incident The single-engine plane was fully engulfed in flames and torn to pieces, coming to rest above the water just feet from the rocky shore of Susya Island.
Miraculously, all 10 passengers and the pilot were found after the fiery wreck, officials said.
Officials said one individual was in critical condition, and that injuries among those treated ranged from “head injuries to broken bones and lacerations,” the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said. King 5 News said.
Two injured passengers were taken by the Coast Guard to a hospital in Bellingham – about a 20-minute boat ride from the crash site on the mainland.
Two others were transported to nearby Orcas Island for evaluation and treatment.
Orcas Island Fire and Rescue he wrote on Facebook Multiple agencies, including their department, the Coast Guard and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the scene.
King 5 News reported that the plane was headed to Roche Harbor, about 20 miles from where it went down.
Kenmore Air CEO David Gudgel confirmed to the outlet that the plane belonged to his company, and was “grateful that everyone on board has been identified.”
“Our immediate focus is ensuring that our passengers and pilots receive the care and support they need,” Gudgill said in the statement.
“We extend our sincere thanks to the United States Coast Guard, local emergency responders, and everyone assisting in the response. Kenmore Air is fully cooperating with investigating authorities, and we will continue to provide verified information as it becomes available.”
The cause of the emergency landing and fire is still under investigation.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the crash, King 5 News reported.
At the time of the accident, thunderstorms were rolling through the area, producing wind gusts of 12 to 20 miles per hour, with visibility up to 10 miles away, said Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The Seattle Times reported.
Kenmore Air, the largest seaplane operator in the United States, flies more than 90,000 passengers annually to more than 45 destinations across the Pacific Northwest and Canada.