The body of a 10th person was recovered by a good Samaritan on Sunday after the crash was reported at 3:11 p.m., Coast Guard spokesman William Colclough said Monday. Later Monday, the Coast Guard announced it had suspended the search after “saturating an area” of more than 2,100 square nautical miles (nearly 2,800 square miles or 7,250 square kilometers. “All next of kin have been notified of this decision,” the Coast Guard said on Twitter. “Our hearts go out to the families, loved ones and friends of those who are still missing and those who have died.” The Northwest Seaplanes flight departed from Friday Harbor, a popular tourist destination in the San Juan Islands, and was headed to Renton Municipal Airport, the company’s home base, Colclough said. The plane crashed in Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of downtown Seattle and about halfway between Friday Harbor and Renton, a suburb south of Seattle. The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday it is sending a seven-person team to investigate the DHC-3 Turbine Otter crash. The cause of the crash is unknown, authorities said. Jon Gabelein of South Whidbey Fire/EMS told KOMO that witnesses on shore reported seeing the plane “nose dive into the water.” Four Coast Guard vessels, a rescue helicopter and an aircraft were involved in the extensive search, along with nearby rescue and law enforcement agencies. The Coast Guard said early Monday that crews were searching through the night, “but no additional people were found and no debris was located. Coast Guard aircraft are beginning a search this morning.” Northwest Seaplanes is a family business founded by Clyde Carlson, according to the company’s website. It has 24 years of “accident and incident-free flights,” the website said. The company’s business office next to the seaplane dock at the Renton Municipal Airport remained closed behind a fence Monday. The only visible activity was two people hugging near the front door. The only floatplane on the dock appeared to be a small private Cessna. A woman who answered the phone early Monday said they are waiting to learn more and are devastated by the crash. “It’s a small crew. Everyone is close,” said the woman, who gave only her first name, Michelle. He declined to say more. The Northwest Seaplanes website states that its sister company Friday Harbor Seaplanes operates daily flights to and from their base in Renton and the San Juan Islands, a picturesque archipelago northwest of Seattle that attracts tourists from around the world. Floatplanes, which have floats that allow them to land on water, are a common sight around Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. There are several daily flights between the Seattle area and the San Juan Islands. These aircraft, which also fly between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, often fly over Seattle and land on Lake Washington and Lake Union, not far from the city’s iconic Space Needle. The airport where Sunday’s flight was headed is located at the southern end of Lake Washington, less than 5 miles from Seattle. It is located next to a Boeing factory and is best known for being where the new 737s first took to the skies. In July 2020, a De Havilland Beaver operated by Brooke’s Seaplanes was on a scenic flight in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with five passengers and a pilot on board when it collided with a Cessna 206. Eight people were killed. In 2019, a plane crash in Alaska between two sightseeing planes killed six people. The Ketchikan-based floatplanes were carrying passengers from the same cruise ship, the Royal Princess, returning from tours of the Misty Fjords National Monument.
