Witness 'saw flames' before crash that killed two

BTN News
Monday, 06 May 2024

A witness saw smoke coming from one of the engines of an Alaska Air Fuel plane that crashed soon after taking off from a Fairbanks airport on its way to deliver fuel to a remote Alaska village on April 23, a preliminary crash report says.


The plane was carrying 3,400 gallons (12,870 litres) of unleaded fuel and two large propane tanks intended for the village of Kobuk, about 300 miles (480 kilometres) northwest of Fairbanks.

The witness said he first noticed one engine wasn't running and when the plane turned south, he saw an engine was on fire, the National Transportation Safety Board report states. 

Not long after that, the 54D-DC plane - a military version of the Douglas DC-4 - attempted a return to the airport but crashed, killing the two pilots.

The probable cause of the crash will come in a future report.

Witness 'saw flames' before crash that killed two

BTN News
Monday, 06 May 2024

A witness saw smoke coming from one of the engines of an Alaska Air Fuel plane that crashed soon after taking off from a Fairbanks airport on its way to deliver fuel to a remote Alaska village on April 23, a preliminary crash report says.


The plane was carrying 3,400 gallons (12,870 litres) of unleaded fuel and two large propane tanks intended for the village of Kobuk, about 300 miles (480 kilometres) northwest of Fairbanks.

The witness said he first noticed one engine wasn't running and when the plane turned south, he saw an engine was on fire, the National Transportation Safety Board report states. 

Not long after that, the 54D-DC plane - a military version of the Douglas DC-4 - attempted a return to the airport but crashed, killing the two pilots.

The probable cause of the crash will come in a future report.