Five people are dead and one person is missing, with ten others currently in hospital after two floatplanes collided and went down in the water close to Ketchikan, Alaska.
Princess Cruises confirmed both planes were carrying passengers from Royal Princess, which is currently on a 7-day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise. The ship departed Vancouver BC on Saturday, May 11 for Anchorage AK.
One of the floatplanes, de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver on an independent tour, had four guests onboard and a pilot. They were all pronounced dead. The second plane, single-engine de Havilland Otter DHC-3, was on Misty Fjords shore trip sold through Princess and operated by Taquan Air. 10 cruise passengers were onboard, plus a pilot. 9 of the guests and the pilot were taken to the hospital with one person in critical condition. One of the passengers remains missing.
The planes collided at 1:08 p.m. on Monday. It is not clear yet what caused the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators to the crash site. FAA is probing the collision. Taquan Air has suspended scheduled flights and is cooperating with the investigation.
For other Royal Princess accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.