A plane carrying four people crashed near Dry Bay Airstrip southeast of Yakutat, requiring medevac.
Three of the plane crash victims were medevaced by a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules to Anchorage for treatment, according to a Coast Guard news release.
Coast Guard District 17 watchstanders received an emergency locator beacon alert after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Sector Juneau received a call shortly after that a Dehavilland DHC-3 single-engine plane with four aboard had crashed.
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The Coast Guard responded by sending an MH-60 Jayhawk from Air Station Sitka to transport two victims with critical spinal injuries from the crash site to Yakutat. The Yakutat Police Department transported a third victim with critical breathing issues to Yakutat, while a bystander transported the fourth person, who was in stable condition with minor injuries to Yakutat for treatment, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard deployed a HC-130 from Kodiak to transport the three critically injured people to Anchorage, where they were transported by Anchorage EMS to area hospitals, the news release said.
“The great work of Air Stations Sitka and Kodiak to provide critical rescue services to these crash survivors in Yakutat speaks volumes about the professionalism and expertise of the pilots and aircrews,” said D17 response chief Capt. Alan McCabe. “This rescue, that was coordinated by two air stations, was all the more noteworthy because Air Station Kodiak was simultaneously using a second C-130 for to search for a possible missing mariner from a skiff in Cook Inlet while Air Station Sitka sent an MH-60 helicopter to assist the survivors of this plane crash in Yakutat.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation, according to the news release.
“The local service professionals in Yakutat were also critical to help the survivors and their expertise and teamwork are commended,” McCabe said in the news release. “We are extremely proud of the women and men across these two air stations that made this case happen so seamlessly to assist these survivors in such a challenging remote location.”
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
