Seaplanes landing on water is not an uncommon sight in many parts of Alaska. But a seaplane landing on a whale is certainly noteworthy and one such seaplane came very close.
Seaplanes landing on water is not an uncommon sight in many parts of Alaska.
But one landing on a whale is certainly noteworthy. One such seaplane came very close. The plane lowered to the water and got so close, it almost touched the surface. Suddenly the plane moved higher and landed in a different spot.
The reason why the pilot quickly decided to change landing locations is because a humpback whale was right underneath the water’s surface. A man named Thomas Hamm filmed the close encounter.
Reflecting on the occurrence he told CNN “All the sudden, the pilot advanced the throttle and I didn't know why. I thought, 'Oh something must be wrong.'”
The pilot pulled up at just the right moment to avoid striking the creature. He later told reporters he didn’t actually see the whale but was only reacting to the commotion of witnesses on shore who were trying to inform him the whale was directly under the plane.
Right after the aircraft passed it, the whale blew out its blow hole and sent a wave of water onto the planes windshield. The seaplane safely landed and no one was injured.
The incident occurred in the remote island community of Angoon, which is only accessible by seaplane or boat.
