Floatplane crash strikes family of ‘Smash’ star Megan Hilty

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The deadly Sunday floatplane crash into Washington State’s Puget Sound that took the lives of 10 people has struck the family of Smash star Megan Hilty particularly hard.

Hilty’s sister Lauren, brother-in-law Ross Mickel and nephew Remy were among the victims; Lauren was pregnant at the time of the crash, according to a statement.

Pilot Jason Winters and passengers Patricia Hicks, Sandra Williams, Luke Ludwig, Rebecca Ludwig, Joanne Mera and Gabrielle Hanna were also killed, according to the Coast Guard.

The plane took off from Friday Island and was headed to a Seattle suburb when it went down for as-yet-unknown reasons.

ABC World News Tonight aviation expert John Nance calls the aircraft in question, a de Havilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter, a “reliable, excellent” airplane. Nance said the National Transportation Safety Board will have to conduct an extensive investigation to see what went wrong.

The Coast Guard called off a search for survivors around noon local time Sunday after conducting 26 search sorties that covered about 2,100 square nautical miles, ABC News is reporting.

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