Four Rescued in Water off Lopez After Plane Goes Down

— from Sheriff Ron Krebs —

At approximately 9:15 a.m. this morning, a call came into the Sheriff’s Dispatch of four people in the water. Approximately 40 minutes prior, a float plane coming out of Lake Union attempting to land on Lopez encountered heavy fog and went down somewhere in Cattle Pass.

After being found by a kayaker, all four people were taken aboard a passing boat which eventually met up with the Sheriff’s boat Sentinel. The patients were transferred aboard the Sentinel and taken to the Peace Island Medical Center.

The investigation is being handed over to the U.S. Coast Guard to investigate the cause of the crash.

KOMO News 4 filed the following report:

Four people were rescued by the crew of a fishing boat after a Kenmore Air float plane crashed in the waters near the San Juan Islands on Friday morning.

The Coast Guard was notified of the crash after 9 a.m. by Kenmore Air, reporting an emergency signal from one of their planes near Cattle Pass, at the south end of Lopez Island. Meanwhile a mayday call came in from the crew of the vessel Northern Rose reporting the plane crash.

The Northern Rose was able to make it to the crash scene and plucked the one woman and three men on board from the water. Coast Guard officials said the plane sank on impact.

The four victims were brought to waiting medics at Friday Harbor where they were treated for minor injuries and hypothermia, Coast Guard officials said. There is no word yet what caused the crash.

Kenmore Air’s operations director, John Gowey, says the plane left from its dock at Seattle’s South Lake Union for the 45-minute flight to the San Juan Islands. Its first stop was to be Lopez Island. The crash happened at about 8:50 a.m.

Coast Guard vessels headed to the scene to check for debris and any possible pollution.

Visibility in the area at the time of the crash was about a quarter-mile due to dense fog, making their response more difficult.