UNALASKA: A commuter aeroplane carrying 42 people, including a high school swim team, to a remote Aleutian Islands fishing community went off the runway and came to a rest just short of the Bering Sea. Two passengers suffered critical injuries and 10 more were receiving medical care, the plane’s operator said.

The swim team was fine after the incident late on Thursday afternoon at the airport in Unalaska, which is home to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation’s busiest fishing ports, officials said.

The SAAB-Scania 2000 twin engine turboprop plane operated by Peninsula Airways, or PenAir, went off the end of the runway under unknown circumstances, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said in an email to The Associated Press.

He said local authorities reported three crew members on board in addition to 38 passengers, but the airline said in a statement that 39 passengers were on board.

Unalaska was buffeted by high winds when the plane made its landing, said Jim Paulin, a freelance photographer in Unalaska.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday in a statement on Twitter that it was sending a team of nine investigators to Unalaska to start the process of determining why the plane overran the runway. PenAir, which is owned by Ravn Air Group, said it is cooperating with the NTSB and had established a family assistance line.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of our passengers and crew, and the family members of everyone with loved ones on this flight,” said PenAir CEO Dave Pflieger.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2019