KAMISHAK BAY, Alaska, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A small plane crashed on takeoff from an Alaskan beach and ended up in the water, and the six people aboard escaped safely, officials said.
The plane, a Cessna 206, took off Sunday afternoon from Kamishak Bay in southern Alaska and immediately fell into the water, the Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday.
"They did get airborne. What happened from the time they got airborne to the time they ended up in the surf, we don't know," said Clint Johnson of the National Transportation Safety Board's Anchorage office.
Damage to the plane was "substantial," Johnson said.
The passengers, aboard for a bear sightseeing flight, escaped through the plane's rear door and were provided with food and blankets until another plane could pick them up, a statement from the charter plane company, K Bay Air of Homer said.
