A Douglas C-54 aircraft transporting fuel crashed into a frozen river shortly after takeoff Tuesday in Fairbanks, Alaska, ABC News reported on Wednesday, citing the National Transportation Safety Board.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration two people were on board the plane. The FAA is also investigating the incident, ABC News reported.
As per the preliminary information, the Part 91 fuel transport flight operated by Alaska Air Fuel crashed into the Tanana River shortly after taking off from Fairbanks International Airport around 10 a.m. local time, the report noted citing officials.
After taking off, the plane crashed around 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the airport and “slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire,” Associated Press reported citing Alaska State Troopers.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety stated in a statement shortly before 2 p.m. local time: “The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located.”
The Chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office, Clint Johnson, stated that it remained unclear as to what happened during the time between the takeoff and the crash but the tower operator “saw a large plume of smoke.”
Michaela Matherne, who was flying from Galena village to Fairbanks to catch a flight to New Orleans, said that her plane was diverted to verify the coordinates of the crash site, AP reported.
“We actually didn’t know what we were looking at until after we landed a few minutes later,” she told AP.
“We were shocked and saddened to hear that,” she added.
Following the aircraft crash, the NTSB deployed agents to the scene of the crash, who will recover the plane, the agency said, as reported by ABC News.
