Woodinville man dies in Alaska waters

A Woodinville man working aboard a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship died Tuesday when the launch he was piloting capsized in Alaska's Prince William Sound.

Two other crew members made it safely to shore.

Seaman Eric Koss, 30, was skippering a 29-foot launch deployed from the Seattle-based Rainier, a 230-foot hydrographic-survey ship that has been working this week in Prince William Sound with a crew of more than 50.

"Eric was a skilled seaman and valued contributor to our mission of collecting survey data to update the region's nautical charts," said Capt. James Gardner, commanding officer of the Rainier.

At the time of the accident, before 12:50 p.m. Tuesday, Koss was piloting from inside the launch while two other crew members — NOAA Corps Ensign Jennifer Johnson and survey technician David Fischman — were monitoring equipment inside the launch's cabin, according to Gardner.

They were working just off a rugged stretch of coastline less than a mile away from the Rainier, staying outside the breaking surf line, according to Gardner. It was a windy day with choppy water, and the launch was hit by several big waves, which turned the vessel sideways and capsized it.

Johnson and Fischman initially were trapped inside an air pocket of the overturned vessel but were able to make their way out and swim to shore, Gardner said. They set off emergency flares, which were seen by a sailing vessel.

Johnson and Fischman were flown by Coast Guard helicopter to Seward for medical treatment. Both were released from the hospital late Tuesday afternoon, according to the Coast Guard.

Koss, overcome by the cold, rough waters, didn't make it to shore. Eight-foot seas striking the shoreline prevented a Coast Guard swimmer from retrieving Koss' body just after the accident, but a crew from the Rainier recovered it about 6:30 p.m. None of the three had been wearing a life jacket, according to the Coast Guard.

Gardner said it is routine for crew to wear life jackets in open skiffs, but not inside the cabin of the 29-foot launch.

He said that if Koss, Johnson and Fischman had been wearing life jackets, they would have had to take them off to escape, which required them to swim down and then move through small openings.

The Rainier routinely spends months charting Pacific and Alaska waters — both deep-ocean and shallower coastal waters.

Gardner said he has been mapping for 23 years, and this is the first fatal accident from a capsizing that he can recall.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.