Downed Goose fate still unclear

By KIAL News

Unalaska, AK – The fate of a Pen Air plane that flipped over on takeoff from Driftwood Bay two weeks ago is still unclear.

The plane is still sitting alongside the runway on the north coast of Unalaska Island. Pen Air President Danny Seybert says that the company has contracted with Magone Marine Service to bring the plane back to town, but that so far sea conditions have made it difficult for barge crews to get on the beach at Driftwood Bay.

Seybert said that because of the nature of the plane, which is a Grumman Goose, it is hard to assess its condition at the crash site.

"Until we get the aircraft into the hangar in Dutch Harbor and take it apart, we don't know how much damage we have," he said.

A Dutch Harbor-based pilot and an Anchorage-based mechanic were in the plane when a gust of wind knocked it off the runway on June 24. Neither was injured in the accident.