SEATTLE — September 4, 2023 marked one year since Captain Hobbes Buchanan flew to San Juan Island on a De Havilland DHC-3 Otter.
“I flew up here from Snohomish to bury a friend of mine, Captain Jack,” said Buchanan.
That afternoon, Buchanan flew aboard the floatplane from Roche Harbor to Friday Harbor, where he got off. The plane departed for Renton and then crashed in Mutiny Bay just 20 minutes later, killing the pilot and nine passengers, including a toddler.
“I couldn’t believe it, I saw it as Captain Jack was looking after me,” Buchanan couldn’t believe it because as a former pilot of nearly 30 years, he said the plane was amazing and the pilot, Jason Winters, even better.
“I always get there early and I saw the pilot do his precheck. Everything looked A-Okay, I saw him do a good job with that and I was happy to board the aircraft,” said Buchanan.
Peter Lemme is an Aviation Expert and said documents show the plane hit turbulence, there was a mechanical failure, and the pilot had no chance to recover the aircraft. Lemme said it was extremely unusual and surprising that there was no backup on the plane. Since this crash, a backup has been created.
Meanwhile, Winter’s childhood friends are remembering him. Conor Davis sent in photos of Winters and said “Jason definitely loved & lived life to the fullest. I’m sure he’d be extremely proud of how strong his family has been.”
Buchanan said he thinks about that crash often and hopes lasting change can be made, "Because no one wants a repeat of this.”
The NTSB told KING5 News its final report will be released by the end of this year which will outline a cause. Since that crash, the FAA ordered every plane of the same manufacturer be inspected for a potential critical flaw related to this crash.
This comes as the community that lives on Mutiny Bay remembers jumping into action when they saw the plane go down. Joe Arbanas rings a bell 11 times every Sunday for those that died in the crash, including Lauren Hilty's unborn child. He also has a flag that names each life lost.
For many on the island, they were the first responders to the crash.
“For some temporarily and others permanently, they are buried in this body of water. So we see those eleven people as part of our community,” said Arbanas.