A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane carrying two people crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks, Alaska, on Tuesday, igniting a blaze. Tragically, there have been no reports of survivors. The aircraft departed Fairbanks International Airport in the morning and crashed approximately 7 miles away, according to Alaska State Troopers. The plane reportedly “slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire.” Clint Johnson, Chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office, noted that the events leading up to the crash remain a mystery, but an air traffic controller observed “a large plume of smoke.” Michaela Matherne, a passenger on a small plane en route to Fairbanks from Galena, witnessed the incident while being rerouted to verify the crash coordinates. She stated that initial speculation indicated a cabin or fish camp fire. “We actually didn’t know what we were looking at until after we landed a few minutes later,” she said. “We were shocked and saddened to hear that.” The C-54 Skymaster is the military counterpart of the Douglas DC-4, a renowned World War II-era aircraft. According to the website www.airlines.net, the DC-4’s typical passenger capacity during its prime was 44, although many have since been converted into cargo planes. While the Federal Aviation Administration classified the crashed aircraft as a Douglas C-54, Alaska State Troopers identified it as a DC-4. The NTSB has dispatched investigators to the crash site, and further details regarding the flight’s intended destination and purpose are expected to be released in due course.
C-54 Skymaster Plane Crash in Alaska Claims Two Lives
