Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

A7
U.S. NEWS Thursday 16 May 2019

Alaska floatplanes collided at

3,300 feet before crashing

By RACHEL D’ORO and
MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)
— Two sightseeing planes
carrying cruise ship pas-
sengers in Alaska collided
at about the 3,300-foot
(1,006-meter) level before
Klatch Coffee owner Bo Thiara holds a cup of Elida Natural they crashed, the Nation-
Geisha coffee at his shop in San Francisco, Wednesday, May al Transportation Safety
15, 2019. Board announced after a
Associated Press team arrived from Wash-
California cafe touts ington, D.C., to investigate
the crash.
its $75 coffee as The two planes collided in This May 13, 2019 photo provided by Ryan Sinkey, shows a
midair Monday, and the
Coast Guard Station Ketchikan response boat crew searching
the world’s priciest Coast Guard raised the for survivors from a downed floatplane in the vicinity of George
death toll to six people on Inlet near Ketchikan, Alaska. Two floatplanes carrying cruise
Tuesday after finding the ship tourists collided Monday near the southeast Alaska town
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A off a bidding war that de- bodies of two people who of Ketchikan.
California cafe is brewing termined its astronomical had been missing. Five of Associated Press
up what it calls the world’s price, topping last year’s the dead were passengers Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. died, as did two passen-
most expensive coffee — winning beans that sold and the sixth was the pilot The planes came down gers and the pilot on the
at $75 a cup. for $601 per pound, Thiara of one of the planes. about a mile and a half smaller plane, Princess
Klatch Coffee is serving the said. Klatch describes the Federal investigators said (2.4 kilometers) apart, with Cruises said in a statement.
exclusive brew, the Elida coffee as a rare variety of the larger plane, a de some of the debris falling Alaska State Troopers in a
Natural Geisha 803, at its Arabica from Panama that Havilland Otter DHC-3 with on land near George Inlet, statement late Tuesday
branches in Southern Cali- has a floral, tea-like flavor 10 passengers and its pilot, about 8 miles (13 kilome- identified the passengers
fornia and San Francisco. with hints of jasmine and had descended from 3,800 ters) from the cruise ship who died as 46-year-old
The 803 in the coffee’s berries. The 10 pounds of feet (1158 meters) feet and port of Ketchikan. Louis Botha of San Diego,
name refers to the record- beans will produce about collided with a smaller de The Beaver, the smaller 56-year-old Simon Brodie
breaking $803 per pound 80 cups of coffee, Thi- Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, plane, appears to have from Temple, New South
the organic beans sold for ara said. A few lucky cof- carrying four passengers broken apart in midair, ac- Wales, Australia, 62-year-
at a recent auction after fee lovers got to try free from the same cruise ship, cording to Jerry Kiffer, duty old Cassandra Webb
winning the Best of Pana- samples Wednesday at the Royal Princess, and the incident commander of from St. Louis, 39-year-old
ma coffee competition, the San Francisco branch, pilot. The federal investiga- the Ketchikan Volunteer Ryan Wilk from Utah and
said Bo Thiara, co-owner where promotional signs tion into the cause of the Rescue Squad. He said the 37-year-old Elsa Wilk of
of the Klatch branch in San are on display advertising, crash could take months, plane’s tail and section of Richmond, British Colum-
Francisco. He calls the an- “World’s Most Expensive but a preliminary report is the fuselage were 900 feet bia, Canada. Also killed
nual competition the cof- Coffee.” expected to be released (275 meters) from the air- was the pilot of one of the
fee world’s equivalent of One of them was San within two weeks, said Pe- craft’s floats, which landed planes, 46-year-old Randy
the Oscars. Francisco resident Lauren ter Knudson, a spokesman near shore. Sullivan of Ketchikan. The
Only 100 pounds (45 kilo- Svensson, who said it was for the NTSB. The smaller plane was par- larger plane was operated
grams) of the beans were “very different” from any Coast Guard Lt. Brian tially submerged in the by Taquan Air of Ketchikan
available for purchase, coffee she’d ever tasted. Dykens said Tuesday eve- shore of George Inlet after and passengers booked
and most went to Japan, “My mind was a little blown ning that his agency and the single-engine plane the flights through the
China and Taiwan, Thaira about the fact that a$75 the Ketchikan Volunteer overturned and hit some cruise ship as an excursion.
said. Klatch secured 10 cup of coffee even exists,” Rescue Squad found the trees before crashing, ac- The other plane was oper-
pounds (4.5 kilograms) and she said, “but it was shock- two bodies of those who cording to Coast Guard ated by Mountain Air Ser-
is the only chain in North ingly good.” were missing near the Lt. Brian Dykens. The larger vice of Ketchikan, and the
America to have it. Her friend, Charlie Sinhase- crash site of the smaller Otter landed in water and four booked the flight inde-
The coffee’s high qual- ni, also gave his free sam- plane involved in the col- sank, he said. One pas- pendent of the cruise ship,
ity and limited supply set ple a positive review.q lision, a single-engine de senger on the larger plane Princess Cruises said.q