Holland America confirmed to CND yesterday that the passengers aboard a small Seawind Aviation sightseeing plane that crashed in Alaska last Thursday were passengers who were ashore from Zuiderdam. The excursion was not one purchased from the cruise line, however. The passengers purchased it independently of their cruise. It is unknown if they booked it in advance or if it was an impulse purchase during the port call.
Ketchikan was the last port of call on Zuiderdam's 7-day round trip cruise from Vancouver, which departed August 11.
The plane crashed in the woods near Traitor's Cove, about 27 miles north of Ketchikan. The plane carried 7 passengers plus the pilot and a guide. The crash claimed the lives of five people, all passengers.
The NTSB said they are dedicating extra resources to this crash to see if there is any underlying causes in the flightseeing industry in the area, since it was just three weeks ago that a Taquin Air sightseeing plane, also based in Ketchikan, crashed while on a sightseeing flight with cruise passengers. Taquin was used as a shore excursion operator by several cruise lines.
