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07/29/2008: "Engine Fire Forces Water Landing Off Stuart"

(A West Coast Air deHavilland -file photo by "Tom")

On Monday a call came into the Sheriff’s dispatcher that a boat was on fire off of Stuart Island. Close, but not quite right. According to reporting Officer Under Sheriff John Zerby the report was changed to “a plane down in the water with an engine fire.”

Although the news seemed to be going from bad to worse, the reality was that a deHavilland Twin engine Otter plane operated by West Coast Air out of Vancouver had, in the words of pilot Tyler Simpson, lost one of the engines when “the right engine just blew and caught on fire.”

The good news was the deHavilland was equipped with floats, and the pilot was able to safely land the plane on the states largest landing area, the water.

When the first responders arrived they found the plane sitting in the water with no fire or smoke, and the two passengers on a sail boat that had observed the landing, and then had come to the aid of the crew and passengers. The Friday Harbor Fire Boat and the Coast Guard also were on scene.

First Officer Cullen Worth remained on the plane as it was towed to Roche Harbor by Vessel Assist. The pilot and the two passengers were taken by the Sheriff’s boat to the Roche Harbor Customs office, and then left aboard another West Coast Airplane to continue their trip.