NTSB Sends Elite Investigators to Probe Alaska Crash - KTVN

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5 p.m.

The Coast Guard says three people have died after two sightseeing airplanes collided in midair Monday in southeast Alaska.

Coast Guard spokesman Jon-Paul Rios says three others remain missing. Ten others have been hospitalized in Ketchikan, one in critical condition.

The passengers were off the cruise ship Royal Princess were on sightseeing flights, one of which was operated by Taquan Air.

A spokeswoman for the Ketchikan flightseeing company says Taquan has suspended operations while federal authorities investigate the deadly crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it isn't immediately known what caused the crash.

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4:40 p.m.

A passenger on the Royal Princess cruise ship says 14 people on the two floatplanes that crashed in mid-air Monday in Alaska were cruise passengers.

Cindy Cicchetti tells The Associated Press that the ship captain announced that two planes were in an accident Monday and said the conditions of the passengers wasn't immediately known.

Cicchetti says the ship is not leaving as scheduled and there weren't any details as to how the accident will affect the rest of the trip.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it's not known what caused the planes collide in mid-air near Ketchikan in southeast Alaska.

There were 11 people on one plane, and Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios says the 10 injured were from that plane, one critically. He says the 11th person is missing from that plane. The other plane had five people aboard, and he says they are also missing.

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4:20 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration says two floatplanes collided in mid-air Monday near the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan.

Spokesman Allen Kenitzer says in an email to The Associated Press that the planes collided under unknown circumstances.

Eleven passengers were on a de Havilland Otter DHC-3. Ten of those passengers have been taken to a Ketchikan hospital. One patient is in critical condition, and the others are in fair or good condition.

The Coast Guard says the 11th person on board that plane is missing.

Five people were on a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. The Coast Guard says these people are unaccounted for.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

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4:05 p.m.

At least 10 people have been hospitalized after two floatplanes went down in the water near the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan.

A spokeswoman for PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center says one patient is in critical condition, three are in good condition and the others are in fair condition.

Spokeswoman Mischa Chernick had no other information on other passengers and referred questions to the Alaska State Troopers.

The Coast Guard said it's not known what caused the planes to go down or if they crashed into each other.

There were 11 people on one plane, and Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios says the 10 injured were from that plane. He says the 11th person is missing from that plane.

The other plane had five people aboard, and he says they are unaccounted for.

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3 p.m.

The Coast Guard says six people are unaccounted for after two floatplanes went down in the water in southeast Alaska.

Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios says one of the planes carried 11 people and the other plane carried five. Authorities say 10 of the people were accounted for.

The fate of the other six people wasn't immediately known.

The Ketchikan Daily News reported injured passengers were being taken to a nearby lodge, where the local emergency medical services department was staging. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Rios says it's not immediately clear if the planes crashed or had anything to do with each other going down Monday.

Weather conditions included high overcast skies with 9 mph (14 kph) southeast winds.