Alaska air carrier suspends operations after 2 deadly crashes in a week

U.S. officials say an Alaska air carrier involved in two deadly floatplane crashes in a week has voluntarily suspended operations.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the halt of "flightseeing" and commuter flights is in place until further notice.

The action comes after the passenger and the pilot of a Beaver floatplane operated by Taquan Air were killed when the aircraft crashed in Metlakatla Harbor on Monday afternoon during a scheduled commuter flight from Ketchikan.

Taquan Air officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board in Alaska, says witnesses reported the crash occurred during landing.

Monday's crash followed the May 13 midair collision of a Taquan Air Beaver floatplane with another floatplane. Six people died in that crash, including one Canadian,and another 10 people were injured.