Recovery efforts continued Wednesday for a man's body trapped in a Southeast Alaska plane crash that also left six people injured, according to the Coast Guard in Juneau.
Alaska State Troopers have identified the deceased as 66-year-old Thomas L. Rising of Santa Fe, N.M. His next of kin have been notified. Efforts to recovery Rising's body took place on Wednesday, according to a spokesman with the National Transportation Safety Board.
A Pacific Wings sightseeing plane, based out of Petersburg, crashed into an area near Le Conte Bay described by the Coast Guard as "steep terrain" mid-afternoon Tuesday.
Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board in Anchorage, said the plane crashed about 13 miles north of Petersburg. Johnson described the area as "very treacherous, mountainous terrain."
The NTSB, Alaska State Troopers and the Coast Guard had to wait hours for the weather in Petersburg to clear so investigators could reach the crash site and Rising's body could be recovered.
"It was reported to us that the aircraft was roughly at a 45-degree angle, so getting in there to remove the deceased person was going to be more difficult and we were starting to run out of daylight," said Senior Chief Chad Mountcastle with Coast Guard Sector Juneau.
The Coast Guard says one of the passengers had a broken back, another had a broken leg, and four others received minor injuries in the crash. According to the NTSB, rescuers flew the six survivors to Petersburg for treatment. The two with serious injuries were medevaced to Seattle.
The plane was a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and the company listed two planes on its website with the other being a Cessna 185.
The Coast Guard said it was alerted by the plane's emergency locator transmitter, along with the aircraft's company dispatch reporting a loss of communications. The aircrew based out of Air Station Sitka was dispatched to the scene.
"The Coast Guard aircrew spotted a person on the side of a mountain and lowered a rescue swimmer, who learned that of the six survivors, one had a broken leg and one had a broken back," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst.
"The use of their emergency locator transmitter ensured that we knew there had been an incident and that people needed help [because] of their preparation, we were able to locate and rescue the survivors," said Cmdr. Marc Burd, chief of response, Coast Guard Sector Juneau.
Petersburg is located on the northwest end of Mitkof Island, about 120 miles midway between Juneau and Ketchikan, according to the state Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
Editor's Note: KTUU's Sarah Evans, Mike Ross, Abby Hancock and Jessica Ridgway contributed to this story.
Contact Neil Torquiano