Small plane with cruise passengers crashes in Alaska

This is sad....personal story:

About 1994 (? Date unspecific) I was on an Alaskan cruise, and one 'shore excursion' package involved air tour of glaciers....with the "hook" of spotting wildlife. This was in a Cherokee 6. As a pilot, of course I requested the right seat.

Our pilot told us she was an F/A for Alaska Airlines, building time to eventually get hired as a pilot, there. She was very capable (I was a Capt @ Continental Airlines, at that time).

A couple of weeks later after my trip, I saw the news that this same company had last a Cherokee, with the pilot and tour passengers....seems it was an accelerated stall/spin event. And, the pilot in this instance was male, so I knew it wasn't the woman I'd met before.

There was extreme emphasis placed on these pilots to "spot" wildlife on the ground, especially bears...then circle to allow the tour customers a good look and snap pics. All at just a few hundred feet AGL.

Pointless tragedy.....

"lost".....not 'last'....a Cherokee...try to proof-read, but still(??)....

(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

All Nine on Sightseeing Plane That Crashed in Alaska Are Dead

All nine people aboard a cruise excursion plane that crashed in southeastern Alaska Thursday are dead, the Alaska Division of State Troopers said.

Search and rescue teams reached the crash site near a granite rock face about 800 feet above Ella Lake in the Misty Fjords area in Ketchikan Borough at 5:59 p.m. local time (9:59 p.m. ET) and confirmed that all nine aboard were killed, the division said in a statement.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cruise-line-excursion-plane-crashes-nine-aboard-alaska-n382166

(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

Cruise Passengers Killed in Alaska Plane Crash

All nine people aboard a sightseeing plane died in a crash yesterday in southeast Alaska, authorities say, but stormy weather prevented the immediate recovery of the bodies.

http://www.newser.com/story/208922/cruise-passengers-feared-dead-in-alaska-plane-crash.html