Alaska State Troopers were notified of an ELT activation around Lake Iliamna on March 5th at 1:07 p.m. The signal was determined to be coming from approximately 200 miles southwest of Anchorage and 8 miles southwest of Iliamna, on the frozen offshore waters of Lake Iliamna.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers immediately launched an R44 helicopter from King Salmon to the area while local crews and private aircraft from Iliamna attempted to access the area. Rescue teams and troopers located a Cessna 206 Aircraft with tail number N1853Q that had been destroyed in the crash. All five adult occupants of the aircraft were alive but had sustained serious injuries.
The Alaska Air National Guard at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson and the U.S. Coast Guard at Kodiak dispatched helicopter rescue teams to the area. Poor weather conditions initially prevented the Air Guard and the USCG helicopter crews from making it to the area. At approximately 6:00 p.m. both helicopter rescue teams arrived at the crash site and hoisted all five injured persons from the scene. They were then transported by helicopter to Iliamna and then medevaced to Anchorage area hospitals using both Air Guard and LifeMed fixed-wing aircraft. The current medical status of the five occupants is not known.
The NTSB was notified of the incident, and they will investigate the cause of the crash.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety wishes to thank several agencies for their tenacity in persevering through severe weather conditions and participation in this operation including the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, Alaska Air National Guard, United States Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, LifeMed, Iliamna Clinic, Lake and Peninsula Airlines, Iliamna Air Taxi, and the volunteer SAR members and residents of Iliamna and local area; whose team efforts were truly appreciated.