Four survive icy plunge near Kodiak

Anchorage Daily News ^ | January 6th, 2008 | KYLE HOPKINS and JAMES HALPIN

[skeptoid]

A small plane that tried to turn back to the Kodiak airport just minutes after taking off for a short flight to Homer nose-dived into the harbor off the end of the runway Saturday afternoon, killing six people and injuring four, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.

Dean Andrew, a pilot in another aircraft who had been taxiing nearby, arrived in his floatplane just after the crash. He saw two people standing waist deep in water on the sunken fuselage and two others in the water nearby. He pulled all four aboard his plane

[skeptoid]

SNIP . . Ted Panamarioff served as a spokesman for Servant Air on Saturday. He said the pilot, Starrett, was a former Coast Guard helicopter pilot.

"Very humble, very caring. Very detail oriented," Panamarioff said. "Very precise in the way he did things. He was an excellent family man. Excellent co-worker."

Photos at the source

[Larry Lucido]

Dean Andrew, a pilot in another aircraft who had been taxiing nearby, arrived in his floatplane just after the crash.

Good job, Mr. Andrew.

[rdl6989]

Prayers sent. I’m hoping to go to Alaska this summer. Reading this sent a chill down my spine.