NTSB locates wreckage of floatplane that crashed off Whidbey Island

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it has located the wreckage of the floatplane that crashed off Whidbey Island last week. All 10 people on board were killed.

WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it has located the wreckage of the floatplane that crashed off Whidbey Island last week. All 10 people on board were killed.

Working with NOAA and the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory, NTSB used sonar technology to locate the wreckage on the seafloor.

The plane was found approximately 190 feet underwater.

On Sept. 9, crews identified an object on the seafloor using sonar, but needed to return to it to visually confirm that it was the wreckage.

DHC-3 Turbine Otter (N725TH) crash Image 2

So far, only one body has been recovered and identified. Nine of the other passengers on board are presumed dead.

The plane crashed on Sunday, Sept. 4 near Mutiny Bay.

Tom Chapman, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told FOX 13 News on Tuesday that the actual flight only lasted about 35 minutes, and the plane got no higher than about 1,000 ft in the air.

Finding the wreckage will help officials learn what caused the plane to go down.

NTSB says due to the depth of the wreckage and the current, crews will need to send down a remotely operated vehicle to recover it.