The wreckage of the sightseeing plane that crashed near Ketchikan last month was recovered Monday afternoon.
That plane crashed onto a steep, rugged terrain June 25, killing all nine people aboard.
Alaska’s National Transportation Safety Board Chief Clint Johnson said the wreckage was lifted via helicopter from the precarious cliff over the weekend, loaded onto a barge, and transported to a locked hangar in Ketchikan today.
Johnson said the amount of plane crashes this year is not above normal.
Johnson: “Keep in mind last year we had a very slow year, and obviously when our office is very slow that’s a good thing. So last year we saw a remarkable drop in the accident numbers, however this year it’s pretty much par for the course if you look over the last five years or so. We have a little down-tick as far as the number of accidents on an annual basis but last year was remarkably low.”
An investigation team will reconvene in Ketchikan to continue working on the case.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
