Plane crashes at Juneau International Airport

Passengers and pilot reported no injuries, said an Alaska Seaplanes spokesperson.

This article has been updated to include new information.

An Alaska Seaplanes aircraft crashed Friday morning during takeoff from Juneau International Airport, causing flight delays and cancellations.

There were no injuries reported by the five passengers and pilot, said Seaplanes marketing manager Andy Kline.

“They’ve all been checked out by Capital City Fire/Rescue ,and they’re all in good spirits and in good shape, which we’re all thankful for,” Kline said in a phone interview. “We don’t quite know what happened. Something happened on take off, and it ended up on the side of the runway.”

The aircraft was a Cessna 208B Caravan on the morning flight to Skagway, Kline said.

“It’s one of four Cessna 208Bs we have in our fleet,” Kline said.

The 208B is a non-amphibious wheeled aircraft, a “workhorse” of the Seaplanes fleet, Kline said.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, Kline said. Seaplanes will also conduct an internal investigation, Kline said.

“We’re investigating. We will make public our findings when we know them,” Kline said. “We’re incredibly thankful everyone is safe and in good spirits.”

There are likely to be interruptions of service for all Seaplanes flights as the company investigates, Kline said. Operations at the airport were also affected.

“The runway is partially open for smaller aircraft operations, but it is affecting Alaska Airlines flights,” said Scott Rinkenberger, deputy airport manager for Juneau International Airport.

Among some of those affected by the stoppages in the flights were supporters of the Juneau Huskies, who were playing the state football championships on Friday.

“The entire cheer team and a bunch of parents were on a morning flight,” said Judy Campbell, a team mom who flew up on Thursday, in a phone interview. “Some flights got canceled, which made some parents very worried. We were worried the cheer team was not going to be here, which is a huge factor.”

The cheer team and volleyball team also had competitions in Anchorage this weekend, Campbell said. Alaska Airlines cancellations and delays meant that some parents were unable to travel to Anchorage, Campbell said. The cheer team and many parents departed for Anchorage by approximately 1:30 p.m.

Full runway operations resumed by 12:20 p.m., the City and Borough of Juneau said in a news release.

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.