FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — It was shaping up to be a lovely Sunday afternoon in Friday Harbor after a morning of light, on-and-off drizzles. The sun had started to emerge, and the small island town was filled with visitors, many drawn to the island hoping to catch a glimpse of an orca pod over the Labor Day weekend.
“It was a beautiful day,” remembered Amy Taylor, Friday Harbor’s town clerk, who stopped by the docks Tuesday afternoon to pick up fresh crab from a local seafood shop. “What happened later, it was shocking.”
The town attracted a boom of tourists over the holiday weekend, as it does every summer, with the promise of boating, kayaking, whale-watching and exploring lush San Juan Island. But by Tuesday morning, most crowds were gone and the port had quieted. What remains is a deep ache among community members who are still trying to understand the Sunday afternoon floatplane crash that killed 10 people after the plane operated by Friday Harbor Seaplanes took off from their island home.
