A 75-year-old Mat-Su Valley man was killed in a Tuesday floatplane crash in Prince William Sound.
Alaska State Troopers ID’ed the deceased as William Resinger of Palmer. He was one of two passengers aboard a Cessna 185 Skywagon that went down over Cascade Bay about 20 miles southwest of Valdez.
Coast Guard spokeswoman Charly Hengen said the pilot and both passengers were underwater but four vessels in the area immediately responded.
“Sector Anchorage issued out what’s called an urgent marine information broadcast and some good Samaritans were in the area and they were able to provide assistance to the people,” she said. “Also an Alaska Air National Guard rescue helicopter crew was launched by sector Anchorage watchstanders, they were able to medevac two of the people and those people were taken to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.”
Initial reports came in to the Cordova Police Department, which received a 911 call. State Troopers say the aircraft crashed as pilot Scott Johannes of Wasilla was attempting to land in Cascade Bay.
First responders performed CPR on Resinger, who was unresponsive. A Coast Guard boat transferred him to the Whittier Hospital Medical Center. He was later declared deceased.
“Unfortunately, that’s always sad news to hear once we transfer a person off to hear that news,” Hengen said.
The other two were flown to an Anchorage hospital. Their condition and the identity of the second passenger have not been released.
Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. It’s the third fatal floatplane crash in Alaska this month.