A Kenmore Air pilot told the company operations center about deteriorating weather conditions and turned back toward Sucia Island shortly before a floatplane hit the water and slammed into rocks last month, according to a preliminary federal investigation released Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report provides the clearest official account yet of the July 23 crash involving a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter near Sucia Island in Washington’s San Juan Islands.
The scheduled air taxi flight was carrying 10 passengers and a pilot.
The flight departed Kenmore Sea Base in Seattle at about 4:33 p.m. and was scheduled to stop at Roche Harbor and Friday Harbor, according to the NTSB. Preliminary tracking data showed the aircraft traveling north over Rosario Strait at roughly 500 to 1,000 feet above mean sea level before turning west north of Sucia Island.
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As the aircraft neared Roche Harbor, the pilot radioed Kenmore Air’s operations center and reported inclement weather that prevented the flight from continuing to its destination, the NTSB said.
The pilot told the company he intended to return to Sucia Island, land and wait for conditions to improve. Kenmore Air told investigators there were several bays around the island where the pilot was authorized to land.
Witness video from near Shallow Bay showed the plane flying at low altitude in a nose-high attitude as it descended toward the water, investigators said. When the aircraft was about 4 feet above the surface, its left wing dropped, causing the wingtip and left pontoon float to strike the water.
The plane then came down on both floats and continued forward before hitting rocks, according to the preliminary report. Small boats immediately arrived to remove those aboard, and a fire later destroyed the fuselage after the passengers and pilot had escaped.
Video obtained by KOMO News showed the floatplane flying low and banking before striking the water, briefly rising again and then hitting the rocky shoreline. Smoke could be seen as people escaped before flames engulfed much of the aircraft.
Immediately after the crash, there was a rapid rescue effort involving civilian boaters, the U.S. Coast Guard, and emergency agencies from across San Juan County.
All 11 people aboard were saved.
The NTSB listed two passengers as seriously injured and seven as suffering minor injuries. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by the crash and subsequent fire.
According to an interview with a friend of those onboard, the passengers were going on a fishing trip to the San Juan Islands.
Cody Gibson told KOMO News he had originally planned to take the flight with his friends, but changed to an earlier flight a day before the trip due to another obligation. His friends remained aboard Flight 140.
Gibson said he was waiting at the Roche Harbor dock when rain and thunder moved into the area. He later received a call from one of his friends, using another person’s phone, telling him the plane had crashed at Sucia Island and was on fire. Gibson told KOMO his friends survived, though they suffered injuries and lost phones, luggage and other belongings.
Kenmore Air canceled its scheduled flights the day after the crash, saying it was focusing on supporting passengers, the pilot, their families, employees and emergency responders. Investigators said the aircraft was recovered to a secure hangar for further examination.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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