Alaska Seaplanes turboprop crashes on takeoff in Juneau; company reports no injuries

An Alaska Seaplanes Cessna carrying five passengers and a pilot crashed while taking off from Juneau’s airport Friday morning after being unable to gain altitude, according to the company.

None of the six people aboard was injured in the crash just before 8:45 a.m. at Juneau International Airport, Alaska Seaplanes said in a statement. They were all evaluated by Capital City Fire and Rescue.

The aircraft involved was a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan headed for Skagway.

Alaska Seaplanes is working with National Transportation Safety Board investigators to determine the potential cause of the accident, officials say.

“Upon takeoff, the airplane was unable to gain proper altitude, and came to rest back on the side of the runway,” the statement said. “All passengers and the pilot were able to immediately exit the aircraft, which sustained significant damage in the accident.”

Alaska Seaplanes canceled the rest of its flights Friday. Normal service was scheduled to begin again Saturday.

The incident closed part of the airport runway for about four hours Friday morning, prompting Alaska Airlines to cancel a few flights, officials with the City and Borough of Juneau said. The airport reopened part of the runway shortly after the crash for limited smaller aircraft operations. Helicopter and float pond operations were also able to resume but the rest of the runway remained closed in the morning.

The airport reopened the entire runway just before 12:30 p.m. Friday following a thorough cleanup, and jet traffic resumed, local officials said.

The accident occurred near the north end of the runway, company spokesperson Andy Kline said. One wing dug into the ground and the plane spun around.

The National Transportation Safety Board was notified about the incident and is looking into it, according to Clint Johnson, the agency’s Alaska chief. Representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration were at the scene Friday morning.

Note: This story has been updated to reflect new information that there were five passengers, not six, aboard the plane.