Crews reach sightseeing plane crash site in southeast Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Improved weather conditions Wednesday allowed crews to access the site where a sightseeing plane crashed last week in southeast Alaska, killing six people.

Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska division, said he was hopeful the wreckage could be returned to Ketchikan later Wednesday.

A pilot and five passengers died in the crash last Thursday. The passengers were off a cruise ship and had taken the flight to nearby Misty Fjords National Monument.

The plane crashed on the side of a mountain in a rugged, steep area that is heavily forested, at 1,800 feet (549 meters) to 2,000 feet (610 meters), Johnson has said.

The site is about 12 miles (9 meters) northeast of Ketchikan, he has said.

The bodies were recovered Saturday, but poor weather delayed retrieval of the plane. NTSB investigators have been working other aspects of the investigation.