All 11 on seaplane that crashed, caught fire north of Seattle survive

A seaplane with 11 people on board crashed Thursday evening in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle and caught fire shortly thereafter. All 11 people survived, officials said.

Kenmore Air said in a statement that their de Havilland DHC-3 Otter, carrying ten passengers and a pilot from Seattle to Port Roche in the San Juan Islands, was “involved in an accident” in Shallow Bay near Sucia Island at around 17:15 local time, and “the number of everyone on board was accounted for.”

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said everyone on board was “rescued from the water” and that “there were multiple patients with injuries ranging from head injuries to broken bones and lacerations, with 1 patient in critical condition and no deaths reported at this time.”

The office said three air ambulances were at the scene. First responders include the Coast Guard and local emergency personnel, Kenmore said.

Video taken by viewer Monica Scott shows the plane swaying while flying just a few feet above the water, then crashing and bursting into flames.

The Coast Guard released video of the burning plane.

There is no immediate explanation for what went wrong on the plane.

“Out of respect for those involved in the accident, we will not speculate on the cause of the accident,” Kenmore said. Chief executive David Gudgel said the airline was “fully cooperating with investigative authorities and we will continue to provide verified information as it becomes available.”

Kenmore says it is “the largest seaplane airline in the United States,” with flights throughout the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia in addition to its “wheelplane operation, Kenmore Air Express.”

Shallow Bay is located at the northwestern tip of Sucia Island State Park in Washington state’s San Juan Islands, north of Seattle and near the Canadian border.