Guardian Flight resumes medevac service in Alaska after plane went missing last week

Published 7:30 am Sunday, February 3, 2019

Guardian Flight has begun the process of resuming medical air transport service in Alaska after service was halted when a plane went missing near Kake last Tuesday.

“As we continue to search for the plane at its crew, we know our friends would want us to resume helping others when they need it the most,” said Randy Lyman, Guardian Flight senior vice president of operations, in a press release. “We thank everyone sincerely for their thoughts and prayers during this difficult period.”

[Community pays respect to those aboard missing plane]

The resumption of services will not happen all at once across the eight Alaska base locations, but will be phased in as appropriate when the base crew members are ready.

The Coast Guard announced Thursday that it suspended its search for the plane, according to a Coast Guard news release. The search was suspended at 5:30 p.m. after searchers looked for 63 hours over an area of 240 square nautical miles, according to the release.

[Photos: Hundreds turn out for Guardian Flight vigil]

While the search for survivors by the Coast Guard might have ceased, Lyman said Guardian Flight will continue the search independently to reunite the lost crew with their families. He said they are organizing aerial surveys of the coastline and a SONAR (SOund Navigation and Ranging) search of the ocean near the last reported position of the missing aircraft. The company will also be looking for the flight recorder, otherwise known as the “black box,” for ultimate use by the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation.

• Contact reporter Mollie Barnes at mbarnes@juneauempire.com or 523-2228.