KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Jay Barrett & Kayla Desroches/KMXT
A float plane crash Friday afternoon in Uganik Lake left three people seriously injured, but there were no reported fatalities.
Most seriously injured in the crash of the Island Air DeHavilland Beaver was 58-year-old Linda Suydam of Kodiak. She suffered severe leg and spine injuries. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, a Dolphin helicopter crew hoisted her and transported her to emergency medical personnel waiting at Kodiak Municipal Airport in Midtown.
Her husband, Steven Suydam, age 61, and pilot, 31-year-old David Schleifer, also suffered possible head trauma and were medevac’d to Kodiak as well.
The current status of the three victims is unconfirmed.
According to Petty Officer Kelly Parker from the Kodiak Public Affairs Office, the command center in Juneau received an electronic beacon alert from the floatplane around 12:20 p.m. and launched two Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak helicopters which arrived at around 1:30 p.m.
No reason has so far been given for the crash, though winds had picked up through the morning on Friday. The Coast Guard reported 20 mph winds at the scene of the accident.
