A doomed cargo plane carrying two people crashed into the Tanana River on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, about seven miles southwest of Fairbanks International Airport. The crew of the Douglas DC-4 had reported an in-flight fire and requested a return to the Fairbanks airport before the plane crashed, according to an official from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The plane took off from Fairbanks International Airport around 9:55 a.m. carrying approximately 3,200 gallons of cargo fuel and another 1,200 gallons for a 300-mile flight to the Northwest Alaska village of Kobuk, said Clint Johnson, chief of the NTSB’s Alaska office.
Air traffic control recordings showed that the crew reported a fire and had requested to return to Fairbanks for an emergency landing before all communications were lost, Johnson said. The plane crashed about 7 miles southwest of the airport, then “slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire,” troopers said.
Mike Emers, owner of Rosie Creek Farm southwest of Fairbanks, reported hearing an explosion and saw one of the plane’s four engines on fire just before it crashed. He said a large column of dark smoke rose from the crash site as more explosions were heard.
The cause of the fire or crash is still under investigation, but three NTSB investigators were at the scene on Tuesday, Johnson said. The plane was operated by Alaska Air Fuel, a Wasilla-based fuel hauling company.
NTSB investigators were working with Alaska Air Fuel’s insurance company on Wednesday to evaluate how the wreckage would be recovered, Johnson said. Some of the debris was scattered over the river’s thin ice, he said.
Troopers had not released the names of the people onboard the plane as of Wednesday morning. Troopers said they responded to the scene 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.
