Georgia man survives floatplane crash in Alaska

<p>One person died and five were rescued after a floatplane from a fishing lodge near Iliamna Lake crashed into a coastal marsh in Katmai National Park.</p><p>The person who died was a man from out of state, Alaska State Troopers said. One of those rescued was from Georgia.</p><p>National Guardsmen flew to the scene and transported four survivors from the crash site at the mouth of the Swikshak River to Kodiak. Three were treated and released from Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center and one declined treatment. They included Toby Morgan, 64, of Rome, Ga., Francis Chlebus, 67, of Chicopee, Mass., guide Jeffrey Pfaender, 38, of Tigard, Ore., and pilot Frederick Westlund, 56, Westampton, N.J.</p><p>The fifth survivor, Ed Brewster, whose age and hometown were not released, was picked up by a plane from a nearby lodge, Rainbow King Lodge.</p><p>The crashed plane was a deHavilland Beaver belonging to Alaska Sportsman's Lodge, which is on the Kvichak River southwest of Iliamna Lake about 250 miles southwest of Anchorage.</p><p>Brian Kraft, an owner of the lodge, said four guests, a guide and a pilot had left in the morning to fish for silver salmon in Katmai.</p><p>Troopers said rescuers in Anchorage received a call reporting the crash at around 2 p.m. Thursday from Iliamna Air Taxi Service. A representative in Iliamna said a friend fishing near the Swikshak River had called to tell her of the crash, and she passed it on to authorities.</p><p>The Alaska Air National Guard sent an HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopter and an HC-130 support plane to the scene from Kulis Air National Guard Base. They arrived between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., said McHugh Pierre, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.</p><p>Tom Robinson, owner of Rainbow King Lodge, said the Swikshak River is a popular silver salmon fishing spot at this time of year. His lodge had clients on the river at the time of the accident. His clients and staff were the first to reach the wreckage of the plane in waist-high marsh water.</p><p>"It's hard to say what happened there," he said. "Sometimes freak things take place, and you just don't know why."</p><p>When rescuers arrived, the fuselage of the plane was partially submerged on its right side, Pierre said. The right wing was broken at a 90-degree angle and the left wing was detached.</p><p>The cause of the crash southwest of Fourpeaked Glacier is under investigation.</p><p>Pierre said troopers hope to recover the body of the dead man Friday.</p><p>The fatal plane crash is the second in a week involving deHavilland Beavers in national parks. On Sept. 15, two Anchorage hunters died when their plane slammed into a mountain on the edge of Denali National Park and Preserve. Pilot Alex Stack, 38, and passenger Aric Beane, 33, died in that crash.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc208)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/9/116606