Juneau

Authorities are reporting two separate deaths in Juneau, one on the 5200 block of Commercial Boulevard and one on Windfall Lake.

Alaska State Troopers report Jacob Lewis of Juneau was thrown from a skiff in Windfall Lake late Friday. Troopers say friends found his body around 7 a.m. Saturday.

Lewis, a 2005 Juneau-Douglas High School graduate, had just turned 28 on Thursday. His family could not be reached at press time.

Separately, the Juneau Police Department reports a 46-year-old woman was found dead in her vehicle on Commercial Boulevard on Thursday afternoon in an apparent suicide. Police say the death was not suspicious. Police have yet to name her.

Community members took the Mississippi flag down around 7 a.m. Saturday. Juneau’s Black Awareness Association Secretary, Latarsha McQueen, removed the flag — which has an image of the Confederate flag in the upper left corner — and replaced it with the state’s first official flag, the Magnolia flag.

McQueen, former Assemblyman Marc Wheeler, and six other community members  and their families watched the flag change. Friday morning Wheeler obtained a permit from the state Department of Transportation — which has authority over the right of way where the flags are posted — to remove the flags.

The flag has been part of a discussion in the community ever since the racially charged mass murder of church parishioners at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, last month. While several other state flags include the Confederate stars and bars, the Mississippi flag is the only one to feature the full Confederate flag.

Controversy surrounding the flag has also prompted discussion on the topic of racism in Juneau.

Update | 6:25 p.m.

The Coast Guard and Juneau Mountain Rescue have recovered the body of pilot Fariah Peterson from the crash site, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch.

Peterson’s body was flown to Juneau and will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Update | 3:40 p.m.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigator is at the scene of the plane crash today, according to an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman.

Investigator Chris Shaver is from the NTSB Alaska Regional Office in Anchorage. He arrived in Juneau on Friday, says NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss.

“We’re basically on scene in Juneau with one investigator. He’s coordinating with the commander in the Anchorage office,” Weiss says. “And we’re going to send some people up from our Transportation Disaster Assistance program to help with the survivors.”

Two staff members from the disaster assistance program are arriving in Juneau today from Washington, D.C., says Weiss.

The Coast Guard is helping transport the investigator as well as members of Juneau Mountain Rescue to the crash scene. Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says the rescue crew is trying to recover the body of Wings pilot Fariah Peterson.

The four passengers involved in the plane crash all survived. Juneau’s Sandra Herrera Lopez and Hoonah’s Ernestine Hanlon-Abel were both medevaced to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. They’re both in serious condition in the intensive care unit, says Harborview spokeswoman Barbara Clements.

Hanlon-Abel’s husband Tom Abel says Wings of Alaska parent company SeaPort Airlines is arranging travel to Harborview for himself and close family members.

The two other plane crash survivors Humberto Hernandez-Aponte of Juneau and Jose Vazquez of Puerto Rico are in stable condition at Bartlett Regional Hospital.

Update | 2:40 p.m.

Wings of Alaska has cancelled all flights today “out of sensitivity to employees,” according to a company press release. Service is scheduled to resume tomorrow.

Wings pilot Fariah Peterson, 45, of Birmingham, Alabama, died yesterday after the Cessna 207 she was flying went down 18 miles west of Juneau Friday afternoon. All four passengers survived.

“All of us at Wings of Alaska and SeaPort Airlines are deeply saddened by the accident, and the confirmation of the loss of pilot Fariah Peterson,” said Rob McKinney, Wings President and CEO in the release. “We have lost a member of our work family, and our thoughts and prayers continue for everyone involved and touched by this tragedy.”

The Wings release says a counseling professional will be available in Juneau this afternoon after 2:00 p.m. to provide information and support to families and friends of those involved in the accident. For information on counseling services, friends and family can call the Wings assistance line at 407-362-0632.

The National Transportation Safety Board and other special assistance teams are investigating the accident.

Update | 12:10 p.m.

A plane crash survivor from Juneau and one from Hoonah were medevaced to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to a Saturday morning press release from Bartlett Regional Hospital.

Sandra Herrera Lopez of Juneau, listed in serious condition, along with Ernestine Hanlon-Abel of Hoonah, who was reported in critical condition, were transported to Seattle. Hanlon-Abel is now stable, says husband Tom Abel.

Humberto Hernandez-Aponte of Juneau and Jose Vazquez of Puerto Rico are in stable condition at Bartlett Regional Hospital.

Original story

A Wings of Alaska pilot is dead after the plane she was flying went down 18 miles west of Juneau Friday afternoon. Flight 202 from Juneau to Hoonah crashed into a mountain north of Point Howard on the mainland around 1:20 p.m. The Cessna 207 was carrying four passengers, all of who survived.

The pilot was 45-year-old Fariah Peterson of Birmingham, Alabama, according to the Alaska State Troopers. Her family has been notified. The U.S. Coast Guard and Juneau Mountain Rescue will continue efforts to retrieve Peterson on Saturday.

The surviving passengers are Hoonah resident Ernestine Hanlon-Abel, 64, Juneau residents Humberto Hernandez-Aponte, 57, and wife, Sandra Herrera Lopez, 60, and Jose Vazquez, 15, of Puerto Rico. With a Jayhawk helicopter, the U.S. Coast Guard hoisted the passengers from the crash site and transported them to Juneau. They were all taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital.

Irene Knudsen is Hanlon-Abel’s cousin.

“She’s pretty severe right now. She’s got a big gash on her head and it looks like she has a broken nose. She was in the front of the plane with the pilot,” Knudson says.

Hanlon-Abel, who is in critical condition, was in Juneau visiting her mother at the Wildflower Court nursing home. Friend Mary Tarr had dinner with Hanlon-Abel Thursday, the night before the crash. Tarr says Hanlon-Abel was supposed to leave Juneau Thursday night, but changed her flight to leave Friday afternoon.

Husband Tom Abel of Hoonah thanks the Coast Guard for saving his wife’s life.

“They, of course, did their usual good job and rescued my wife and for that I’m eternally grateful,” Abel says. He says his wife has several fractures and is being medevaced to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Bartlett Regional Hospital spokesman Jim Strader says another crash survivor in serious condition is also being medevaced. The other two passengers are in stable condition.

Flight 202 took off at 1:06 p.m. and was scheduled to land at 1:24 p.m. The Juneau Police Department received a 911 call from someone on the flight around 1:20 p.m. reporting the plane crash.

The Coast Guard launched an MH60 Jayhawk helicopter out of Air Station Sitka and sent the cutter Liberty to assist in the rescue. The Alaska State Troopers, Juneau Mountain Rescue and Temsco Helicopters were also involved in the search and rescue. The site of the crash was at 1,330 feet above sea level.

The weather near Point Howard had been similar to the weather in Juneau — low clouds, light rain and patchy fog, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Tom Ainsworth.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident and will fly to the crash scene Saturday, according to state Troopers. An NTSB representative was at Bartlett Regional Hospital Friday night.

Hoonah mayor Ken Skaflestad says the plane crash is devastating.

“We rely on air travel so much being from an island out here that it concerns us whenever we hear of plane crashes anywhere. This is very close to home and the whole town is curious and anxious to know more,” Skaflestad says.

Wings of Alaska operates scheduled flights to Gustavus, Haines, Hoonah and Skagway. The company is owned by SeaPort Airlines based in Portland, Oregon.

View KTOO’s live coverage of flight 202 here.

Editor’s note : July 18, 2015 8:00 a.m.: A previous version of this story listed one of the Juneau survivors as Humberto Herrera. His name is actually Humberto Hernandez-Aponte. The Alaska State Troopers dispatch for July 17, 2015 had listed the incorrect name. We apologize for the error. 

Update 9:21 p.m.

Bartlett spokesman Jim Strader says two of the passengers are in stable condition. A passenger in critical condition and another in serious condition are being prepared to be evacuated. Strader couldn’t say to where they would be transferred. He also confirmed that Ernestine Hanlon is the passenger listed as being in critical condition.

Update 8:35 p.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard confirms the fifth person onboard the Wings of Alaska flight was found deceased.

“Rescue crews responding to the plane crash west of Juneau have located all five people who were on board the airplane. Unfortunately there were only four survivors,” says Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow.

The four survivors have been flown to Juneau and transported to Bartlett Regional Hospital for medical treatment.

Wadlow says next of kin are being notified. He couldn’t release names of anyone on the flight.

Wings of Alaska flight 202 crashed into a mountain north of Point Howard on the mainland around 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. The flight from Juneau to Hoonah took off at 1:06 p.m. and was scheduled to land at 1:24 p.m.

Wadlow says representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board are traveling to Juneau to conduct an investigation.

Update at 8:10 p.m.

Rescue crews have located all five people who were onboard a small plane that crashed 18 miles west of Juneau, Friday.

Four of the people aboard the plane survived and were transported to Juneau by a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, for treatment of their injuries. The fifth person was located by the search team who reported that they were deceased.

Update at 7:48 p.m.

The Coast Guard confirms a fourth survivor from the plane crash is being transported back to Juneau.

“One of the two remaining people had been found. They had suffered some significant injuries but they’ve been hoisted aboard out helicopter and they’re being flown back to Juneau for treatment,” says Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow.

Wadlow doesn’t know the condition of the fifth person.

Update at 6:25 p.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew has so far transported three survivors from the plane crash to Juneau.

“Ground crews are still searching to locate and assess the status of the other two from the airplane,” says Coast Guard spokesperson Grant DeVuyst.

He says the survivors are being initially brought to Bartlett Regional Hospital for medical care.

Update at 5:45 p.m.

The site of the crash was at 1,330 feet.

“That made rescuers hiking in from the beach impractical, so helicopter crews located a clearing between the beach and the site of the crash where they are able to conduct hoist operations. So they’re in the process of lowering rescuers and hoisting survivors from that location,” says Coast Guard spokesman Grant DeVuyst.

He still doesn’t have a confirmation on how many rescuers there are.

Update at 5:36 p.m.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says there are confirmed survivors, but she doesn’t know the extent of injuries or if there are any fatalities.

“The Troopers have actually spoken by phone to survivors, so we do have survivors,” Ipsen says.

Hoonah mayor Ken Skaflestad says the plane crash is devastating.

“We rely on air travel so much being from an island out here that it concerns us whenever we hear of plane crashes anywhere. This is very close to home and the whole town is curious and anxious to know more,” Skaflestad says.

Skaflestad says he knows of only one passenger from Hoonah on the flight.

Update at 4:47 p.m.

A Wings of Alaska Cessna 207 flying from Juneau to Hoonah went down just north of Point Howard with five people on board — four passengers and one crewmember.

Coast Guard spokesman Grant DeVuyst says one Coast Guard and two Temsco helicopters are transporting Juneau Mountain Rescue to the nearest beach.

“The airplane has been located on the side of a mountain where — because of terrain and a low ceiling right now — hoist capabilities weren’t an option. They are landing on the beach so that the Juneau Mountain rescue personnel can go to conduct the rescue and bring survivors back to the beach,” DeVuyst says.

DeVuyst says there is no confirmed report of how many survivors there are.

The flight from Juneau to Hoonah took off at 1:06 p.m. and was scheduled to land at 1:24 p.m.

Update at 4:35 p.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard says they are no longer in need of assistance for Wings of Alaska flight 202.

Update at 4:11 p.m.

Around 1:26 p.m., the Juneau Police Department says it received a 911 call from a person reporting that they had been involved in the plane crash. The name of the 911 caller matched the name of one of the people listed on the Wings of Alaska missing plane. The condition of all five passengers is unknown.

Wings of Alaska has established a number for friends and family of the passengers at 407-362-0632.

Update at 4:03 p.m.

Update at 4:02 p.m.

A small airplane has gone down between Juneau and Hoonah. Wings of Alaska has confirmed flight 202 from Juneau to Hoonah has been involved in an accident.

Tim Sieber is Wings executive vice president.

“A Cessna 207 operating on a scheduled flight from Juneau to Hoonah, aircraft was reported missing,” Sieber said.

There were four passengers and one crew member on board.

According to the Wings website, flight 202 was scheduled to leave Juneau at 12:45 p.m. and arrive in Hoonah at 1:05 p.m. Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says the 911 call came in at 1:32 p.m.

Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Grant DeVuyst says the search area is near Point Couverden, where Lynn Canal and Icy Straight merge on the far side of Admiralty from Juneau.

He says the agency has launched an MH60 Jayhawk helicopter out of Air Station Sitka and the Coast Guard cutter Liberty was sent to the area. He says the Alaska State Troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue are involved in the search and rescue, which is in process.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified.

Wings of Alaska is headquartered in Juneau and operates scheduled flights to Gustavus, Haines, Hoonah and Skagway.

Update at 3:53 p.m.

The weather in Point Couverden and Point Howard has been similar to the weather in Juneau, low clouds, light rain and patchy fog, according to Juneau Weather Forecast’s Lead Meteorologist Tom Ainsworth. Visibility in Juneau is 5 to 7 miles.

Update at 3:45 p.m.

Wings of Alaska is establishing a toll-free number for friends and family of those on flight 202.

https://twitter.com/wingsofalaska/status/622184285521317888

Update at 3:39 p.m.

Wings of Alaska has confirmed that flight 202 from Juneau, Alaska, to Hoonah, Alaska, is missing. According to a 3 p.m. Coast Guard broadcast on marine channel 16 the plane crashed on land possibly between Point Howard and Point Couverden.

The Cessna 207 was reported missing, says Wings executive vice president Tim Sieber.

According to Wings of Alaska, four passengers and one crewmember are on board. Search and rescue is in process and the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified.

Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says the 911 call came in at 1:32 p.m. There were four passengers and one crewmember on board.

Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Grant DeVuyst says the search area is near Point Couverden, where Lynn Canal and Icy Straight merge on the far side of Admiralty from Juneau. He says the agency has launched an MH60 Jayhawk helicopter out of Air Station Sitka and the Coast Guard Cutter Liberty was diverted from patrol to the area. He says the Alaska State Troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue are involved in the search.

Original post at 3:13 p.m.

Wings of Alaska flight 202 from Juneau to Hoonah has crashed on land according to a 3 p.m. Coast Guard broadcast on marine channel 16. The plane crashed possibly between Point Howard and Point Couverden

According to Wings of Alaska, four passengers and one crewmember are on board. Search and rescue is in process and the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified.

https://twitter.com/wingsofalaska/status/622183181832228864

This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.

After a month long dispute, the Mississippi flag on Egan Drive is coming down. Former Assemblyman Marc Wheeler received a permit earlier this morning to remove the flag this weekend. The flag has been debated ever since last month’s mass shooting at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Wheeler says he spoke with Friends of the Flags organizer Judy Ripley and longtime volunteer Jim Carroll, who said the group decided to allow the flag change.

Wheeler says he’s very happy about the decision.

“I just feel really grateful to the Friends of the Flags and really proud of my community,” Wheeler said. “It’s great to be standing with cities like Jackson, Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Grenada, Mississippi , the communities around the country that are refusing to fly this flag.”

The Department of Transportation issued the permit as it has authority over the right of way along Egan Drive where the flags are posted.

Wheeler says he will also try to fix the California state flag, which was blown off earlier this summer.

The Mississippi flag will be replaced with the Magnolia flag, the state’s first official flag.

Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Please check back later for more details. 

Juneau gardeners have reported cracking, splitting, and exploding fruits and vegetables over the last week. Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says it’s because of the heavy rain showers that fell in the area recently. The extra rainfall has saturated the ground and has been taken in by fruit trees and vegetable plants.

Buyarski recommends harvesting quickly to salvage some of the fruit and vegetables. He also suggests that a careful cut of a few roots with a shovel or a quarter turn of a cabbage head may slow the maturing process and water intake.

“You are wrenching some of the roots loose so it cannot take up so much moisture,” Buyarski says in this week’s edition of Gardentalk on KTOO’s Morning Edition. “I don’t know how long that will delay the inevitable.”