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Plane in Deadly Alaska Crash Had Safety Technology, NTSB Says

A sightseeing floatplane that crashed in a mountainous area in southeast Alaska, killing all nine people on board, was equipped with technology to provide detailed information about the terrain, according to a federal accident report released Tuesday.

The preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board also said the June 25 crash occurred in conditions of reduced visibility. However, it drew no conclusions about the cause of the crash.

The deHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop crashed on a steep cliff about 25 miles from Ketchikan, killing the pilot and eight cruise ship passengers. The excursion was sold through the cruise company Holland America and operated by Ketchikan-based Promech Air. (Read more from “Plane in Deadly Alaska Crash Had Safety Technology, NTSB Says” HERE)

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Recovery Crew Reaches Wreckage of Deadly Alaska Plane Crash

A recovery crew Friday reached the wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed into an Alaskan mountainside Thursday, killing eight cruise ship passengers and the pilot.

Chris John of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad said three members from his organization reached the site Friday and were securing the aircraft, which was sitting at a steep angle, in order to allow for recovery of the bodies . . .

“The initial rescue crew that went in had a very tough time because of the terrain,” National Transportation Safety Board official Clint Johnson said, “It’s a very steep, mountainous area, and weather conditions caused them to stand down.’

There was no immediate indication of why the DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop crashed. It was found Thursday against the cliff’s granite rock face, 800 feet above Ella Lake.

Johnson said it was too soon to know circumstances of the crash, including whether the plane flew into the cliff. The NTSB was assembling a high-level team to investigate the crash, including three members from Alaska and at least two people from Washington, D.C. (Read more from “Recovery Crew Reaches Wreckage of Deadly Alaska Plane Crash” HERE)

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Germanwings Passenger Recorded Horrific Video of Last Moments Inside Doomed Plane [+video]

Germanwings-crash-271159In the clip found among the wreckage of the jet people can reportedly be heard crying “oh my God” and a large metallic banging noise happens three times.

The latter supports the theory that the captain, who had been locked out of the cockpit, tried to break down the door to stop co-pilot Andreas Lubitz.

Prosecutors investigating the crash which left 150 people dead said Lubitz, who had been suffering from depression, had “deliberately” destroyed the plane.

The video of the last few seconds inside the Germanwings plane was found on a mobile phone sim card among the debris from last Tuesday’s crash in the French Alps.

The clip was recorded from the back of the Airbus A320 and was obtained tonight by French magazine Paris Match and German newspaper Bild. (Read more from “Germanwings Passenger Recorded Horrific Video of Last Moments Inside Doomed Plane [+video]” HERE)

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After a Mid-Air Crash in Alaska, the Pilots Miraculously Survive

Photo Credit: Fox News By Associated Press. The Alaska Department of Public Safety says officials have found two separate wreckage sites in the Mat-Su Valley after responding to reports that a single-engine plane collided with another aircraft.

A statement issued Saturday afternoon says pilots of both planes were found alive. One had serious injuries while the other pilot was moderately injured.

One airplane has been determined to be an Alaska Wildlife Trooper fixed-wing aircraft. (Read read more about the crash in Alaska HERE)

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String of Earthquakes Hit Alaska Islands

By Lauren Rosenthal. The Pribilof Islands aren’t usually prone to shaking. But more than a dozen earthquakes have been recorded in between St. Paul and St. George since Friday afternoon.

Michael West, the director of the Alaska Earthquake Information Center, describes the activity as a “swarm.”

“That is, a cluster of earthquakes that are responding to some stress in the earth that appears to be releasing itself kind of incrementally,” West says.

Most of the earthquakes have been around magnitude 4.0, although five of them exceeded 5.0M.

Residents in St. Paul and St. George have been feeling the effects. (Read more from this story HERE)

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AirAsia Plane Crash Update: At Least 40 bodies Found

Photo Credit: WSJ

Photo Credit: WSJ

By Fox News. At least 40 bodies have been found in the area where AirAsia Flight 8501 last made contact with air traffic controllers, along with debris from the plane.

The bodies were found in the Java Sea about six miles from the plane’s last known point of contact. The plane disappeared Sunday with 162 people on board traveling from Surbaya, Indonesia to Singapore.

The bodies were were not wearing life jackets, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Director, SB Supriyadi.

Rescue workers were shown on local TV being lowered on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies. Efforts were hindered by 6-foot waves and strong winds, Supriyadi said, adding that several bodies were later picked up by a navy ship.

“The warship Bung Tomo has retrieved 40 bodies and the number is growing. They are very busy now,” a navy spokesman added. (Read more about the AirAsia plane crash HERE)

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AirAsia Plane Overshoots Philippine Airway

By AP. An AirAsia Zest plane carrying 159 people overshot the runway and got stuck in a muddy field Tuesday at an international airport in the central Philippines after landing from Manila in windy weather, officials said. There were no reports of injuries.

Crew members launched emergency slides to help passengers disembark from the Airbus A320-200 after it skidded off the runway in the resort town of Kalibo in Aklan province before nightfall, Giovanni Hontomin, who is in charge of AirAsia Zest’s operations, said by phone.

Initial reports indicated that three of the plane’s tires got stuck in the mud, said Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio. He said the busy airport would be closed to air traffic until the stalled aircraft, which likely sustained some damage, is towed away from near the runway’s end. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Plane with at Least 10 Onboard Crashes in Western Alaska

Authorities say there are survivors from a plane carrying at least 10 people that crashed Friday night near the western Alaska village of Saint Marys.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters says “there are survivors and we are working our best to get them help.” She said she had no confirmation of any fatalities.

Peters said she believed the plane carried 10 people but did not have an official count.

Read more from this story HERE.