By Steve Quinn
JUNEAU, Alaska (Reuters) - Emergency crews will try on Friday to recover the bodies of nine victims of a sight-seeing plane crash in Alaska while federal investigators work to determine what caused the wreck, rescue officials said.
Eight passengers and the pilot were killed when the plane went down during a tour of the Misty Fjords area of southeast Alaska on Thursday afternoon, flight operator Promech Air said.
"We are going to be taking a look at the local weather but we are planning on a mission down to recover the victims this morning," said Jerry Kiffer, president of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad.
The DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter float plane crashed near Ella Lake, about 20 miles (30 km) northeast of the town of Ketchikan, cruise operator Holland America Line said.
Kiffer said recovery efforts had been delayed because of the location of the crash site, low visibility due to clouds and fog and the precarious position of the plane on the side of a steep rock face.
"We consider the aircraft unstable," he said.
Conditions at the nearby Ketchikan International Airport were overcast and rainy around the time of the crash, the National Weather Service said.
Ketchikan is a popular summertime cruise destination about 230 miles (370 km) south of Juneau, the state capital.
A helicopter pilot spotted the downed plane against a granite rock face about 800 feet (240 m) above Ella Lake, according to an Alaska State Trooper report.
"There is nothing I can say that can alleviate the pain and overwhelming sense of loss," said Marcus Sessoms, president of Promech Air.
National Transportation Safety Board officials from the agency's Alaska Regional office were travelling to the site to investigate, the agency said on Twitter.
The excursion flight was sold through Holland America Line, a unit of Carnival Corp.
Promech's sightseeing flights around the Misty Fjords National Monument offer views of "towering granite cliffs, 1,000-foot waterfalls, lush and remote valleys and serene crystalline lakes," the company says on its website.
(Reporting by Steve Quinn in Juneau; Writing and additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Laila Kearney and Bill Troty)
