Randy Sullivan, Simon Bodie, Cassandra Webb, Ryan Wilk, Elsa Wilk, and Louis Botha killed in collision involving sea planes near Ketchikan, Alaska

A float plane operated by Taquan Air was carrying 11 people and a smaller plane, operated by an unidentified tour company, was carrying five near Ketchikan.

The crash took place around 1 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) when a small floatplane — an aircraft with pontoons or floats that allow it to land on water — operated by Taquan Air was flying a shore excursion. The flight, sold through Princess Cruises, was returning from a tour of Alaska’s Misty Fjords and was carrying 10 passengers and a pilot, the news release said.

Global Affairs Canada said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the name and hometown of the victim is not being made public for privacy reasons.

The six victims were identified by Alaska state troopers late Tuesday as Randy Sullivan, the 46-year-old Alaskan pilot; 56-year-old Simon Bodie of Australia; 62-year-old Cassandra Webb of St. Louis; 39-year-old Ryan Wilk of Utah; 46-year-old Louis Botha of San Diego and 37-year-old Elsa Wilk of Canada. 

A newly married couple, a pilot who used family savings to buy his plane, a family man from Australia and a vivacious office manager were among the six victims in a deadly mid-air collision of two sightseeing planes in Alaska.

Ten others survived the Monday crash over an inlet in southeast Alaska near the cruise ship port community of Ketchikan. All 14 passengers were off the cruise ship Royal Princess, which is on a seven-day trip in Alaska.

The agency’s accident investigation docket includes a harrowing description of the moments before and after the collision from the surviving passengers and Lou Beck, the 60-year-old pilot flying the Taquan plane.