The air ambulance company that lost three Juneau-based crew members in a presumed crash near Kake last week is now helping to look for the missing aircraft. The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for the Guardian Flight plane Thursday after nearly three days of round-the-clock efforts to locate the Beechcraft King Air 200 turboprop and the three people inside: pilot Patrick Coyle, 63; flight nurse Stacie Morse, 30; and flight paramedic Margaret Langston, 43.
Now Guardian officials say they have contracted aerial surveys of the rugged, remote coastline in the plane’s last known area over Frederick Sound, about 20 miles from Kake. The Utah-based company also plans to deploy underwater detection equipment in conjunction with federal efforts to find the plane’s wreckage. Company officials say the extra steps are being conducted in coordination with government-led efforts.
“We just want to make sure we’re doing everything within our power to bring our people home,” Randy Lyman, Guardian’s vice president of operations, said Monday.