Annapolis Executive Killed In Alaskan Floatplane Accident

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Local business executive Joseph Patanella, 57, was killed and one of his three children listed in critical condition after their floatplane experienced difficulty taking off in Alaska July 19. Patanella, his wife and their three children were visiting relatives.

According to the Capital Gazette, seven people were on board the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver at Tutka Bay. The other passengers experienced non-life-threatening injuries. Patanella succumbed to his injuries before arriving at the facility. His wife, their critically injured child and a second child were flown to a medical center in Anchorage. The third child and the pilot were treated and released.

Patanella was the chief executive officer of Trusted Knight, an Annapolis cyber security firm, and worked as a National Security Agency technologist. In 1998, he left the agency, based at Fort George G. Meade, to form TrustWave Corp., an Annapolis information security firm. Patanella sold his company for approximately $63 million, the Capital Gazette reported.