No survivors found after plane crashes in Fairbanks area, officials say
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) - No survivors have been found after a plane crashed Tuesday morning on the Tanana River, according to authorities.
The Alaska State Troopers reported in a dispatch that the plane crashed on the river southwest of Fairbanks near Kallenberg Road, roughly 7 1/4 miles southwest of Fairbanks International Airport.
Federal Aviation Administration records for the plane indicate it is a Douglas C-54, a modified military version of the Douglas C-4 civilian airliner.
In an update, troopers said two people were onboard when the plane took off at 9:55 a.m., but no survivors have been found. Troopers said they received word of the crash at 10:03 a.m.
“The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire,” troopers said.
Troopers asked the public to avoid the area as first responders arrive to the scene.
Clint Johnson, the chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska Regional Office, was initially unable to confirm the status of those onboard, but said that three NTSB investigators were traveling Tuesday morning from Anchorage.
Photos taken by bystanders nearby showed a debris field littering the ice on the river, which appeared to be made up of engine parts and sheet metal.
Mike Emers, a farmer who lives close to the crash site, described watching the terrifying scene unfold.
“I was working in, in my office, I heard an explosion looked out the window and there was a plane on fire. It traveled over my farm field. And then there was another explosion, which I assumed was a crash,” Emers said. “Then there was another very loud explosion rocked the houses here.”
Emers said he saw flames coming from an engine on the low-flying aircraft just before it crashed. Security cameras on his property caught the dramatic sight.
“One of the engines caught on fire. It was a four engine plane, one of the engines is what caught on fire — and it was going down,” Emers said.
Emers, his son, and some of their neighbors rushed to the scene on the Tanana River, arriving about ten minutes after the crash. Emers said he heard two more large explosions from the crash site before troopers arrived and saw debris from inside the plane and from the fuselage spread around the crash site.
Before he even arrived at the crash site, Emers’ concerns were with the people who were onboard the flight.
“This was incredibly scary. And I knew there were people on that plane and wondering what was going through their heads. And it must have been horrifying,” he said.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
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