KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The Servant Air Islander in the trees off the west end of the Kodiak Airport. Alaska State Trooper photo.
Everyone aboard a small plane that crashed Monday afternoon in Kodiak are safe after an hours-long ordeal where the plane was standing nose-down in some trees across from the end of the runway.
Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters says the plane, which was identified as a Servant Air Britten-Norman Islander, was bound for the village of Old Harbor.
— (Crash 1 15 sec "Upon take off … pilot and two passengers.")
The crash closed Rezanof Drive where it goes around the west end of the Kodiak State Airport for several hours as Coast Guard emergency personnel worked to stabilize the aircraft and extract the occupants.
Base Assistant Fire Chief Mike McDonnell said the wreck could have been much worst:
— (Crash 2 19 sec "It nosed into the trees … much grimmer situation.")
The other three fire departments in town responded to the accident as well.
One passenger was extracted from the wreckage by 2 p.m. and transported to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center with unspecified injuries. The other two, reported to be "conscious and alert," remained trapped in the plane until around 3 p.m. when they were extracted. The last person out of the plane was the pilot, who is still unidentified. He reportedly walked out to the road on his own and refused medical treatment.
Missy Woofter was the second car in line when traffic was stopped after the crash. She said via cell phone as she was leaving the scene that the road to Devil’s Creek was cleared of snow and traffic was rerouted across the west end of the runway around the accident while emergency personnel continue to work at the crash site.
— (Crash 3 37 sec "I waited for about an h our … I was driving away.")
In January 2008 a Servant Air Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed into the water off the other end of the Kodiak runway, killing six, including the pilot. The cause of that accident was determined to be a faulty latch on a front-end baggage compartment, which caused the door to fly open shortly after take-off.
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