Pilot, passenger die in floatplane crash in Alaska

Authorities say a pilot and a single passenger have died after a small plane crashed Monday near Ketchikan, Alaska.

A statement from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough saidthe Taquan Air-operated Beaver floatplane crashed in Metlakatla Harbor around 4 p.m. PT. No one besides the two deceased was on board the aircraft.

SpokespersonDeanna Thomas said the names of the deceased won't be released until their families have been notified.

She saidthe circumstances of the crash are not being released at this time. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

In a tweet, the board said the plane was on a commuter flight and not a sightseeing flight.

The crashed aircraft was towed to a beach until it could be secured.

The incident comes a week after six people died when a Taquan Air Beaver floatplane collided with another float planenearKetchikan, which is about 150 kilometres northwest of Prince Rupert, B.C.

Alaska State Troopers named Elsa Wilk, a 37-year-oldfromB.C., as one of the victims in that incident.

Ketchikanis part of a larger Alaskan borough that numbers some 13,000 people.