Rescue at Sucia Island
All eleven survive a Kenmore Air floatplane crash in the San Juans — with Station Bellingham and Air Station Port Angeles in the thick of it
On the evening of Thursday, July 23, a Kenmore Air de Havilland DHC-3 Otter (Flight 140, bound from Seattle's Lake Union to Roche Harbor) crashed in Shallow Bay at Sucia Island Marine State Park — squarely within our flotilla's home waters. Ten passengers and the pilot were aboard. Every one of them survived.
The response was fast and coordinated. Sector Puget Sound directed the case, and help converged from every direction: the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the Canadian Coast Guard, county fire and rescue, the San Juan County Sheriff's Marine Unit, and civilian good Samaritans who happened to be boating nearby.
Coast Guard Station Bellingham's 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew carried three survivors back to the station, where Bellingham Fire Department EMS was waiting; the San Juan Island fireboat brought a fourth. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Port Angeles hoisted an injured passenger from the Sheriff's boat and flew them to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, and Airlift Northwest flew a sixth patient there as well. A U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island delivered backboards, stood by for further medevacs, and helped deconflict the crowded airspace. The Coast Guard Cutter Blue Shark (WPB-87360) and the Sheriff's Marine Unit secured the scene.
Before any first responders arrived, good Samaritans and off-duty medical professionals in nearby boats pulled people from the water, helped triage the injured, and gave rescuers stable platforms to work from — a reminder that on our waters, the boater next to you is often the first link in the rescue chain.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude for the extraordinary interagency cooperation and response during the seaplane crash near Sucia Island,” said Cmdr. Beau C. Belanger, commanding officer at Air Station Port Angeles. “Thanks to the rapid coordination between our federal, local, and state agencies, alongside several critical good Samaritans, we successfully rescued and transported patients for medical evaluation and treatment.”
The aircraft was removed the following day by salvage contractors. The FAA and NTSB are investigating; the pilot had reportedly altered course to avoid a thunderstorm before the crash.
Sources: U.S. Coast Guard news release, July 24, 2026; KOMO News; CNN.