ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued one survivor of a helicopter crash near a bay in southeast Alaska and is searching for three others.

The agency says the 14-year-old survivor of the Friday crash showed signs of mild hypothermia but is in good condition, the Anchorage Daily News reported .

The crash happened near Lituya Bay, about 120 miles (193 kilometres) northwest of Juneau, officials said.

Two adults and two adolescents were aboard the crashed helicopter that was reported to be brand new out of the factory, according to the Coast Guard.

The agency declined to identify them. However, family friend Jeff Brodsky said two of the missing victims were Josh Pepperd, of Anchorage, and his son Andrew, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Pepperd’s son Aiden was found, Brodsky said.

“We are holding onto hope that a miracle will happen,” said Brodsky, who said he has been in touch with family and friends gathered at the hospital where Aiden was taken for treatment.

The helicopter was on a trip that began in Grand Prairie, Texas, bound for Wasilla, Alaska.

The Coast Guard command centre in Juneau received an overdue aircraft alert at about 6:30 p.m. Friday from the Juneau Flight Service Station. The private helicopter had been expected to reach Yakutat on Friday but had not arrived, the alert said.

Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board in Alaska, said the agency is sending investigators to the crash site.

“We understand they found wreckage in shallow water,” Johnson said. “This is an active search and rescue at this point.” </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued one survivor of a helicopter crash near a bay in southeast Alaska and is searching for three others. The agency says the 14-year-old survivor…

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued one survivor of a helicopter crash near a bay in southeast Alaska and is searching for three others.

The agency says the 14-year-old survivor of the Friday crash showed signs of mild hypothermia but is in good condition, the Anchorage Daily News reported .

The crash happened near Lituya Bay, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of Juneau, officials said.

Two adults and two adolescents were aboard the crashed helicopter that was reported to be brand new out of the factory, according to the Coast Guard.

The agency declined to identify them. However, family friend Jeff Brodsky said two of the missing victims were Josh Pepperd, of Anchorage, and his son Andrew, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Pepperd’s son Aiden was found, Brodsky said.

“We are holding onto hope that a miracle will happen,” said Brodsky, who said he has been in touch with family and friends gathered at the hospital where Aiden was taken for treatment.

The helicopter was on a trip that began in Grand Prairie, Texas, bound for Wasilla, Alaska.

The Coast Guard command center in Juneau received an overdue aircraft alert at about 6:30 p.m. Friday from the Juneau Flight Service Station. The private helicopter had been expected to reach Yakutat on Friday but had not arrived, the alert said.

Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board in Alaska, said the agency is sending investigators to the crash site.

“We understand they found wreckage in shallow water,” Johnson said. “This is an active search and rescue at this point.”

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued one survivor of a helicopter crash near a bay in southeast Alaska and is searching for three others.

The Anchorage Daily News reports the agency says the 14-year-old survivor of the Friday crash showed signs of mild hypothermia but is in good condition.

Officials say the crash happed near Lituya Bay, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of Juneau.

Officials say two adults and two adolescents were aboard the crashed helicopter that was reported to be brand new out of the factory.

The helicopter was on a trip that began in Grand Prairie, Texas, bound for Wasilla, Alaska

Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board in Alaska, says the agency is sending investigators to the crash site. </s> The Coast Guard reports a helicopter crashed near Lituya Bay on Friday with two adults and two adolescents on board.

The group was bound for Yakutat on Friday and reported overdue in the evening. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka sent a Jayhawk helicopter crew to Lituya Bay based on a GPS locator signal.

The Coast Guard said they found a 14-year-old boy who may have had mild hypothermia but appeared to be in good condition. The others have not been located.

Coast Guard helicopters and boat crews out of Sitka and Ketchikan, and a Civil Air Patrol aircraft out of Juneau are continuing the search Saturday.

The Coast Guard did not identify anyone in the group by name, but did note some details. It was a brand new, private helicopter. The pilot reportedly had 40 years of flying experience, including in Alaska.

The group was traveling from Grand Prairie, Texas, to Wasilla. </s> (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard continued its search overnight and into early Sunday for three missing people from a helicopter crash in the frigid waters near Lituya Bay, about 116 miles northwest of Juneau, Alaska.

A 14-year-old boy was found alive Friday, a few hours after the wreck, suffering from mild hypothermia, but otherwise in good condition, Coast Guard spokesman Nate Littlejohn said.

“We are still hoping to find survivors,” said Littlejohn. “This is still a rescue operation.”

Neither the Coast Guard nor the Alaska Department of Public Safety have released the names of the missing people or the youth.

But local media, including the Anchorage Daily News, identified the boy as Aiden Pepperd, the son of the owner an Alaska construction and engineering company.

Missing are the boy’s father Josh Pepperd, 42, his other son Andrew Pepperd, 11, and the pilot, David King, 53, owner of Last Frontier Air Ventures, local media reported.

Wreckage from the helicopter has been washing ashore on a beach about three miles east of the Lituya Bay fjord, officials said.

A Coast Guard cutter searched the waters and shoreline overnight, Littlejohn said, and a military MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter will resume searching for survivors at first light Sunday. </s> Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for three missing passengers from a helicopter that crashed off the coast of Alaska.

One 14-year-old male passenger from the helicopter that crashed Friday near Lituya Bay was rescued, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard said at 11:25 p.m. EDT Saturday that it was still searching for three other "potential crash survivors," two adults and one adolescent.

The rescued boy had signs of mild hypothermia but was in good condition. The Anchorage Daily News identified him as Aiden Pepperd. Those missing include Josh Pepperd, 42, his son, Andrew, 11, and David King, 53, who owns a helicopter flight business.

On Saturday, the Coast Guard said it recovered parts of the helicopter's fuselage, engine, rotor head, and front and rear seats. The search operation was planned to continue at least through Sunday.

The helicopter was brand new and its pilot had 40 years of flying experience, the Coast Guard said. It said the helicopter was on a trip starting in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Daily News reported Pepperd recently bought the helicopter from Airbus Helicopters. </s> The US Coast Guard says a British Royal Navy helicopter has rescued a family of three who were left stranded on top of their capsized vessel following Hurricane Maria.

In a dramatic, coordinated effort, rescuers were able to hoist up a woman and her two children from their boat Ferrel just off Vieques, Puerto Rico early today.

Coast Guard in Miami received an alert via emergency position and a distress call on Wednesday stating that those aboard the Ferrel were disabled and adrift in 6m waves and 60 km/h wind.

The Coast Guard says the dead man's body was not retrieved and that the boat had capsized.

The search included an HC-130 search plane, a fast response cutter, the USS Kearsage amphibious assault ship and Navy helicopters.

The names of those on the vessel were not released. </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A team of federal accident investigators is expected to arrive in Alaska Tuesday to try to piece together what caused a deadly midair collision between two sightseeing planes.

Four people were killed after the floatplanes carrying cruise ship tourists collided Monday near the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan, the Coast Guard said. Two others were missing, said Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios, a Coast Guard spokesman.

The Washington, D.C.-based investigative team from the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to arrive in Ketchikan Tuesday afternoon, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said. He said board member Jennifer Homendy also is traveling with the so-called "Go Team," which investigates major accidents.

The floatplanes collided under unknown circumstances, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said in an email to The Associated Press. Floatplanes have pontoons mounted under the fuselage so they can land on water.

The passengers were from the cruise ship Royal Princess and were on sightseeing flights, one of which was operated by flightseeing company Taquan Air.

Eleven people were inside Taquan's single-engine de Havilland Otter DHC-3 when it went down as it returned from Misty Fjords National Monument, which is part of the Tongass National Forest, the nation's largest. Ten people were taken to a Ketchikan hospital.

All patients were in fair or good condition, according to Marty West, a spokeswoman for PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center.

Three people who died were among five people aboard the second plane, a single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, according to Coast Guard Lt. Brian Dykens. It's unclear which plane carried the fourth victim, whose body was recovered during a Monday night search, Rios said.

Local emergency responders worked with state and federal agencies and good Samaritan vessels to help rescue and recover victims.

"It's been a long day and the crews have been working really hard to rescue people and recover the deceased," Deanna Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, the local government, said Monday evening.

A spokeswoman for Taquan Air, operator of the Otter, said the company had suspended operations while federal authorities investigate the deadly crash.

"We are devastated by today's incident and our hearts go out to our passengers and their families," Taquan said in a statement.

Cindy Cicchetti, a passenger on the Royal Princess cruise ship told the AP that the ship captain announced that two planes were in an accident Monday. She said the ship is not leaving as scheduled and there weren't any details as to how the accident will affect the rest of the trip.

The ship left Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 11 and is scheduled to arrive in Anchorage on Saturday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives and the families of those impacted by today's accident. Princess Cruises is extending its full support to traveling companions of the guests involved," Princess Cruises said in a statement.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Weather conditions in the area on Monday included high overcast skies with 9 mph (14 kph) southeast winds.

It's not the first time a major plane crash has occurred near Ketchikan, a popular tourist destination.

In June 2015, a pilot and eight passengers died when a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter operated by Promech Air Inc. crashed into mountainous terrain about 24 miles (39 kilometers) from Ketchikan. The NTSB later determined that pilot error and lack of a formal safety program were behind the crash. </s> “We are holding onto hope that a miracle will happen,” said Brodsky, who said he has been in touch with family and friends gathered at the hospital where Aiden was taken for treatment.

Jeff Brodsky, a family friend of the Pepperds, issued an “emergency prayer request” on Facebook.

“All these washed up on beach, but not any sign of passengers,” said Nate Littlejohn, a Coast Guard public affairs specialist.

Wreckage was found in water about 100 yards off the coast, but pieces of the aircraft Saturday had drifted toward shore, including sections of the fuselage, engine, rotorhead and front and rear seats, the Coast Guard said.

The search on Saturday involved multiple agencies, including a boat from the Coast Guard Cutter Bailey Barco scouting the shoreline, along with aircraft from the Alaska Air National Guard, National Park Service and Civil Air Patrol in Juneau. With help from Alaska State Troopers, teams with search dogs canvassed beaches for any sign of survivors, the park service said.

The cutter will continue searching overnight on Saturday, and a Coast Guard Jayhawk will resume the search at first light on Sunday, said Littlejohn.

On Friday about 6:30 p.m., the Coast Guard in Juneau received an overdue aircraft alert from the Juneau Flight Service Station. The private helicopter had been expected to reach Yakutat that day but had not arrived.

A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Air Station Sitka at 8:15 p.m. Friday, using a GPS locator signal provided the aircraft’s last known position, the agency said.

The crew spotted the wreckage in the water, an official said. After landing on the beach about 3 miles east of Lituya Bay, a Coast Guard rescuer found the boy.

Brodsky said that after the crash Aiden’s head was resting on a helicopter blade, which kept it out of the water, helping him survive. He said Aiden received internal injuries from the crash, including broken ribs.

“It was painful and he had to unbuckle himself, and after he did, he was able to reach shore,” Brodsky said.

Tim DeSpain, a Troopers spokesman, said on Saturday evening it was not known whether any of the victims were still inside the wreckage.

The wind near the crash site Friday evening was blowing about 12 mph, with about 9 miles of visibility and 12,000-foot ceilings, said Littlejohn.

Littlejohn said he did not know how cold the water was, but said nearby seas were between 5 feet to 8 feet, with the air temperature at 48 degrees.

The Coast Guard said the pilot was reported to have many decades of flying experience including Alaska flight time in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, the agency said. The agency did not name the pilot.

The helicopter was on a trip that began in Grand Prairie, Texas, bound for Wasilla.

Airbus Helicopters on Wednesday posted on Facebook that Pepperd and his sons had taken delivery of an Airbus H125 helicopter from the company’s facility in Grand Prairie.

Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board in Alaska, said the agency is sending investigators to the crash site.

The family had been tracking the helicopter on the journey, using a satellite-linked system, and first notified authorities the helicopter was missing.

NTSB is sending four people to the site, including a helicopter engineer from Washington, D.C., and investigators from Airbus and Safran, the engine manufacturer.

Johnson said the helicopter is an Airbus AS350 B3e, the previous name for the H125.

In addition to sending the investigator, Airbus Helicopters said it’s ready to provide further help in the NTSB investigation.

“Our thoughts are with the family and everyone affected by this tragic accident,” said Erin Callender, the company’s head of communications.
The United States Coast Guard rescues one survivor after a helicopter crashes near Yakutat, Alaska. Three others aboard the helicopter are missing.