4 OK after sea rescue

WASILLA — A harrowing landing and rescue in rough Cook Inlet waters Sunday had a happy ending for four Valley residents.

An Alaska State Troopers helicopter happened to be in the area on the east side of Kalgin Island at about 7 p.m. when a 911 call came in from the pilot of a Cessna 185 floatplane that he and three passengers had crashed, an AST press release reports.

That the helicopter happened to be in the area was fortunate timing, AST spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

“The stars were aligned for that rescue,” she said. “They are very lucky we had resources in that area. The pilot (of the AST helicopter) was able to go to where they were and throw a life raft out to them.”

Because of heavy sea swells from 6 to 8 feet, the helicopter could not land to rescue the two men and two women, she said. The Cessna sank shortly after the life raft was dropped, and the AST helicopter contacted some commercial fishermen in the area, who launched a skiff to pick up the stranded people.

Rescued were the pilot, Scott Johannes, 48, and Karis Johannes, 48, of Wasilla and Palmer couple Jill Warner, 56, and Douglas Warner, 54, AST reports. Aside from some hypothermia from the cold water, no injuries were reported.

“This could have been a very tragic situation,” Peters said. “This is one of those stories where, thankfully, everyone was saved. We had the right people in the right place and they got out of it. If it wasn’t for the fact that (the fishermen) were willing to help, we couldn’t get a lot of this done.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, which initial reports say happened when the Cessna lost power, forcing the pilot to make a hard landing, said Jim LaBelle of the Anchorage NTSB office.

“Apparently, there was a reported loss of engine power and the pilot made a ditching in some high seas,” he said. “One of the floats were damaged and the airplane sank. That’s what we heard and was reported by my investigator.”

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, LaBelle said, a probe that could last about six months. However, because the Cessna sank, it’s unlikely a definite cause will ever be known, he said.

“Well, it’s under investigation, as they say,” LaBele said. “But it sounds like the airplane sank, so it’s unlikely it’ll be recovered.”

Scott Johannes is owner of Double B LLC, the construction firm that built the AT&T Sports Center, among other projects. When the complex along the Palmer-Wasilla Highway was under construction in 2007, Johannes told the Frontiersman that after making repeated trips to Anchorage to attend his children’s sporting events, he began working on a plan to keep kids playing sports in the Valley.

“Knowing there was a need in the community was the biggest thing,” he said in 2007 of the motivation for building the sports center.

After being rescued by the commercial skiff Sunday night, the four Valley residents were transported to a net fish camp on Kalgin Island before traveling to Anchorage by helicopter, according to the AST report.

Attempts to reach the Johannes and Warner families by press time were unsuccessful.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.