Low clouds reported morning of fatal Alaska plane crash

Pilots reported low clouds the morning a sightseeing plane crashed on Aug. 5 near Ketchikan, Alaska,killing all six people on board, according to a federal report released Wednesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the preliminary report into the Aug. 5 crash, describinga plane carrying five tourists off a cruise ship and the pilot. The report did not include probable cause of the crash, or other details typically released later.

The plane hit heavily wooded, mountainous terrain as it was returning to the Ketchikan harbour from a trip to Misty Fjords National Monument, the report said.

The NTSB preliminary report said the accident site was about 30 kilometresnorthwest of Ketchikan, but Clint Johnson, head of the NTSB's Alaska division, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the location was actually northeast of Ketchikan. After the crash, Johnson initially said the crash was about 20 kmnortheast of the city, not 30. He said Wednesday that the 30-kmfigure was preliminary.

The plane initially hit a tree about 130 metresfrom the main wreckage location. The plane's major components were found near the main wreckage, according to the report.

The report said other pilots who were conducting passenger flights that morning said there were low clouds in the valley where the collision occurred.

Pilots who assisted in the search for the plane said the weather was overcast, and visibility of the mountain tops would have been obscured.

The clouds were as low as 180to 240 min some places, including the valley where the incident occurred, the report said.