Davidson Glacier, AK Sightseeing Plane Crashes, July 2000

AIR CRASH KILLS 6 IN SOUTHEAST.

Juneau (AP) -- Efforts to reach the site of a sightseeing plane that crashed carrying six people near Haines was hampered by weather early today, Alaska State Troopers said.
The Cherokee Six plane was found at about 7:15 p.m. Monday by a Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter high on the Davidson Glacier, about 12 miles south of Haines. The pilot, CHAD BEERS, 26, of Juneau, and four German tourists and one Canadian were killed in the crash, state troopers said.
Passengers killed were:
MARIANNE CEDERBERG, 55, Toronto, Canada.
HELMUT AUER, Baden-Wurtemberg, Germany.
MARTIN FEDERHOFER, Hamburg, Germany.
UWE KAHLBOHM, 59, Bremerhaven, Germany.
SIEGRID KAHLBOHM, 65, his wife, Bremerhaven Germany.
A team of climbers with Juneau Mountain Rescue and a representative with the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to travel to the crash site today, said Greg Wilkinson, spokesman for the Alaska State Troopers.
"The weather's got us all sitting on the ground," Wilkinson said.
They sky over Haines was overcast with a cloud ceiling of 1,600 feet and patchy fog and light drizzle was expected to increase in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau.
The crash site sits at an elevation of 5,000 feet on the Davidson Glacier, Wilkinson said.
State Troopers planned to use a helicopter from a private air carrier in Juneau in its attempts to reach the crash site later today, Wilkinson said. Earlier officials, had requested an Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to assist in the recovery efforts.
The single-engine plane, operated by LAB Flying Service of Haines, failed to return from an hour and a half sightseeing tour after taking off about 2 p.m. Monday from Skagway.
A search was launched at about 5 p.m. The Coast Guard followed an emergency beacon on the plane and two Coast Guard helicopters from Sitka flew with a Juneau Mountain Rescue team to the crash site on Monday. There were no signs of survivors.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Darrell Wilson said the wreckage was found at the base of the rockface it had hit.
The victims were part of a tour out of Whitehorse, in the Yukon.
LAB has about three dozen planes operating across Southeast Alaska. The company's business operations are in Haines and flight operations are based in Juneau.

Daily Sitka Sentinel Alaska 2000-07-31
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!