Two people died Tuesday night when a cargo aircraft crashed on the , Tanana River , near , Fairbanks, Alaska State Troopers , said.
The plane, described by soldiers as a Douglas DC- 4, crashed soon after leaving , Fairbanks International Airport, soldiers said in an upgrade. About 7 miles north of the aircraft, the helicopter crashed into the river before” sliding into a rocky valley on the valley where it caught fire,” according to soldiers.
Three , National Transportation Safety Board  , authorities planned to go to the crash site Tuesday afternoon to start an investigation, said , Clint Johnson, the firm ‘s , Alaska , key.
Some more details about the accident, such as the names of the passengers on board and the location of the vehicle, were soon made public.
Johnson described the four- website plane as a “large transfer” plane, meaning it is generally used for hauling materials, no passengers. The helicopters, which are extremely rare, were actually used by the military. The defense type of the DC- 4 is known as the C- 54 Skymaster.
A trip radar tracking page showed the aircraft taking off from , Fairbanks International Airport , at , 9: 56 a. m.  , and ending at the crash site about four hours later.
Officials on Tuesday did not provide an established assurance of the plane’s controller at the time of the collision. The plane is registered to Alaska Air Fuel, a , Wasilla- based energy hauling firm, according to a , Federal Aviation Administration , collection. A person who answered the phone at the business early on Tuesday evening had no reply.
Mike Emers, owner of , Rosie Creek Farm , southwest of , Fairbanks, was in his office just before , 10 a. m. Tuesday  , when he heard an explosion.
In a phone interview, Emers said,” I looked out the window and one of the machines was on fire. Coming right over our plantation.”
He tried to call 911 but said he could n’t get through. Finally, Emers said, he heard an blast followed by a collision. He called officer crisis dispatch and fled, he claimed, to the column of black smoke that had come out of the crash site, where he heard more “very quiet” explosions as he fled.
” You may experience them on the ground”, Emers said.
His young boy followed him, along with a roommate, he said.
The helicopter crashed at the bottom of a wooded bluff along the river, and according to Emers, fire was already erupting into stands of black and white pine. The couple tried to beat it again with their sweaters.
Emers claimed to have seen what appeared to be parts of an airplane atop the burnt bluff in a massive debris field. On the still partially frozen creek, some of the dust was found.
Trooper planes were on scene immediately, he said.
Both Emers and his brother were thrown out. He claimed that the aircraft looked like one that frequently flies over the land on its way to and from the  Fairbanks aircraft.
Warriors said they responded to the field along with , University of Alaska Police,  , Fairbanks Airport Police , and Fire, the , Fairbanks Police Department, the Esther and Chena Goldstream volunteer fire departments and the Rescue Coordination Center.
A spokeswoman for , Fairbanks International Airport , urged the public to avoid the area.
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( c ) 2024 the Alaska Dispatch News ,
Distributed by , Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
