'I finally made it to Alaska, hooray': Bucket list tourist, 77, is among those killed in Alaska plane crash alongside mother and daughter on a 'girls trip', Napa couple and pilot

Bucket list tourist Janet Kroll, 77, who 'finally made it to Alaska' after retiring was among six people who were killed when their sightseeing plane crashed in a mountainous area of southeast Alaska. 

Kroll was on the plane with mother and daughter Andrea McArthur, 55, and Rachel McArthur, 20, who were on a 'girls trip', as well as Napa couple Mark Henderson, 69, and Jacquelyn Komplin, 60, when it crashed on Thursday.

The pilot, identified as Rolf Lanzendorfer, 64, also died when the aircraft, a De Havilland Beaver, went down as they were all returning to the port town of Ketchikan from Misty Fjords National Monument. There were no survivors in the crash.

The victims, the pilot and five cruise ship passengers, were recovered and identified by Alaska State Troopers after crews initially struggled to reach the wreckage due to poor weather conditions.      

Kroll, of Mount Prospect, Illinois, was pictured the day before she died by the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. She wrote on Facebook: 'I finally made it to Alaska! Hooray!' 

Meanwhile, Andrea McArthur and her daughter Rachel McArthur, both of Woodstock, Georgia, were on a 'girls' trip before Rachel returned to college.        

All five passengers were on an excursion off the Holland America Line cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam. 

But the plane's emergency beacon was activated about 11:20 a.m. on Thursday when it crashed near the monument, the U.S. Coast Guard said. 

Janet Kroll, 77, of Mount Prospect, Illinois, was pictured here at Mendenthall glacier park the day before she died in the plane crash

Mark Henderson and Jacque Komplin were also killed in the plane crash on Thursday

Pilot Rolf Lanzendorfer, 64, of Cle Elum, Washington, died in the crash. Lanzendorfer's Linkedin profile said he had worked for Southeast Aviation as a pilot since May 2015

Kathleen Grayson, Henderson's sister, told the Napa Valley Register that Henderson and Komplin, both from Napa, California, had sent messages during their trip 'talking about how gorgeous' it was in Alaska. 'They were having so much fun,' she said. 

Henderson was retired but had worked as a public defender, while Komplin was a registered nurse and instructor at Pacific Union College, the news outlet reported.

Komplin coordinated a wellness program associated with Meals on Wheels for Community Action of Napa Valley, the group's executive director, Drene Johnson, told The Associated Press. She said Komplin was excited about the trip.

'We were all wishing her well, and that's what's so hard for us to comprehend is, now she's gone,' she said, describing Komplin as 'one of a kind.'

One recent post on Kroll's Facebook page showed Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau in the background. Another was captioned: 'I finally made it to Alaska! Hooray!'

Davis McArthur said his mother, Andrea McArthur, and sister, Rachel McArthur, were on a 'girls' trip' before his sister returned to college. He said Andrea McArthur was a flight attendant with Delta Air Lines and that the two women loved traveling and adventure.

Andrea McArthur 'had a heart of gold,' he said, adding later: 'If there was a need, just know it was going to get met. If you needed somebody to talk to, she was that shoulder to lean on.'

'You could see Jesus in her,' he said.

Rachel McArthur, too, was 'always wanting to help out,' he said. She also was independent and strong, he said. 

Lanzendorfer, of Cle Elum, Washington, had worked for Southeast Aviation as a pilot since May 2015, according to his Linkedin profile.

Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad personnel land and disembark from a Hughes 369D helicopter on Thursday

The craft, a De Havilland Beaver, had been ferrying five cruise passengers from a Holland America Line ship stopping in the port town of Ketchikan, the officials said, adding that the pilot was among the dead

Ketchikan is a popular stop for cruise ships visiting Alaska, and cruise ship passengers can take various sightseeing excursions while in port.

Popular among them are small plane flights to Misty Fjords National Monument, where visitors can see glacier valleys, snow-capped peaks and lakes in the wilderness area.

A helicopter company reported seeing wreckage on a ridgeline in the search area, and Coast Guard crew members found the wreckage around 2:40 p.m. A Coast Guard helicopter lowered two rescue swimmers to the site, and they reported no survivors, the agency said.

However, poor weather and deteriorating visibility hampered early efforts to recover the bodies. 

Alaska State Troopers and members of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad made it to the crash site Saturday afternoon via a chartered Temsco helicopter.

The bodies of the six people who died will be taken to the State Medical Examiner´s Office in Anchorage, the troopers said.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration was also investigating.  

Delta Air Lines released a statement Sunday saying that it was 'mourning the loss of one of our own and our hearts and thoughts go out to the many who knew, worked with and admired her.'  

The US Coast Guard found the wrecked plane, operated by Ketchikan-based Southeast Aviation (pictured, file photo), and the victims after a search that also involved the US Forest Service and other agencies, the troopers said

Clint Johnson, chief of the agency's Alaska region, said Lanzendorfer was the pilot in a July 9 incident in which a Southeast Aviation plane hit an inlet buoy on departure near Coffman Cove and flipped. Alaska State Troopers previously reported the pilot was the only person on board and that no injuries were reported.

Johnson said that's just 'a piece of information that we're putting on the pile' as investigators probe Thursday's crash.

The Seattle Times reported that Lanzendorfer had been flying commercial floatplanes for more than 40 years and was described by Clyde Carlson, founder of Washington-based Northwest Seaplanes, as 'an excellent pilot.'

Foggy and reduced visibility conditions have also delayed efforts to recover the wreckage of the sightseeing plane, a National Transportation Safety Board official said. 

Johnson said efforts to reach the site Sunday were called off due to poor conditions. The team planned to try again Monday, he said.

'However long it takes, we will wait for the weather and wait patiently for it. But we're going to get this done,' he said.

The wreckage was in a rugged, steep area that is heavily forested, at 1,800 feet to 2,000 feet 'up on the side of a mountain,' he said. The site is about 12 miles northeast of Ketchikan, Johnson said.

'Very challenging conditions,' Johnson said, adding that the wreckage would have to be removed by helicopter.

He described conditions at the accident site as having low ceilings, reduced visibility and fog.

Investigators also were conducting interviews in Ketchikan, he said.  

Holland America confirmed its passengers were aboard the plane when it crashed near Misty Fjords National Monument, a scenic area within the Tongass National Forest

Holland America Line confirmed the five passengers on the flight had been traveling on the company's ship Nieuw Amsterdam, which was nearing the end of seven-day Alaska cruise.

'We can confirm that a floatplane carrying five guests from Nieuw Amsterdam was involved... and there are no survivors,' the cruise line said on Twitter, adding that it had not sold the independent tour. 

Ketchikan is a popular stop for cruise ships visiting Alaska, and sightseeing excursions, such as those to Misty Fjords National Monument, are among the options for exploring the area while off the ship.

The cruise line said the excursion the passengers were on was not sold by Holland America Line.

Southeast Aviation, in a statement Thursday, said it was cooperating with the agencies involved. 'All of us share in the anguish of this tragic incident, and our prayers go out to all affected,' the statement said.   

On Friday, Senator Lisa Murkowski tweeted condolences to the families of the six victims.

'My heart is heavy after hearing about the plane crash in Ketchikan yesterday which took six lives,' she tweeted. 'It's awful and devastating news that is felt across the Southeast and the Alaska aviation community. My prayers are with the families and all those impacted by this tragedy.'

Small planes on similar excursions have crashed in the area in recent years. 

In 2019, a midair collision of planes carrying Misty Fjords sightseers killed six people and injured 10. 

In 2015, nine people were killed when a plane with cruise passengers crashed into a nearby mountain.