US: Vintage World War-II Plane Crashes into Alaska River, No Survivors

ALASKA: In a tragic incident, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River near Farirbanks, catching fire. The plane was carrying two people.

As per preliminary investigation, an Alaska Air Fuel flight transporting fuel under Part 91 regulations crashed into the Tanana River shortly after departing from Faribanks International Airport at around 10 am.

After it took off, the plane crashed about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the airport. As per the Alaska State Troops, it slid down a steep hill on the riverbank and caught fire.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety announced around 2 pm local time that the plane slid down a steep hill and no survivors were found.

Clint Johnson, Chief of the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska regional office, said that it's still not clear what happened between the takeoff and the crash. However, the tower operator saw a big cloud of smoke.

Michaela Matherne, who was flying from the Galena village to Fairbanks to catch a flight to New Orleans, reported that her plane was redirected to confirm the location of the crash site, according to reports.

 “We didn’t actually know what we were seeing until after we landed a few minutes later,” she told the press.

After the plane crash, NTSB sent agents to the crash site to recover the aircraft, the agency stated, reports said.

The airport also stated that it is working with the investigation to determine what caused the crash.

The crash of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft near Fairbanks is a tragic event that led to loss of lives. The investigation by the NTSB and other authorities will be important in determining what caused this unfortunate incident.

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