ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An air taxi crashed Sunday at a small Alaska airport, killing all 10 people on board and leaving the aircraft fully engulfed in flames before firefighters could get to it, authorities said.
The de Havilland DHC3 Otter air taxi crashed just after 11 a.m. at the airport in Soldotna, a community about 75 miles southwest of Anchorage and located on the Kenai Peninsula.
“We do have 10 fatalities, unfortunately, nine passengers, one pilot,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator Clint Johnson told The Associated Press.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Otter was operated by Rediske Air, based out of another Kenai Peninsula community, Nikiski.
Will Satathite, who was working Sunday at Rediske Air’s Nikiski office, confirmed to the Peninsula Clarion newspaper that the aircraft was flown by Nikiski pilot and company owner Willy Rediske with nine passengers onboard.
A man who didn’t identify himself at the Rediske office declined comment later Sunday to the AP, saying the crash was under investigation.
Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Meagan Peters said the aircraft erupted in flames and the fire initially kept firefighters from reaching the wreckage. The victims have not been identified.
The Soldotna Police Department said Sunday evening that the remains of all 10 people have been recovered and sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage for autopsies and positive identifications.
Police said in a release through the Alaska State Troopers that weather at the time of the crash was reported to be cloudy with a light wind.
Johnson said initial reports have the plane crashing after departure, but that will have to be confirmed by investigators.
The NTSB is sending an investigative team from Washington, D.C., and they are scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon. Also taking part will be Alaska-based investigator Brice Banning, who was called back from the Asiana crash in San Francisco Sunday.
For many Alaskans, flying across the state is common because of the limited road system, exposing residents to a litany of hazards including treacherous mountain passes and volatile weather. It’s possible to drive from Anchorage to Soldotna, but it’s about a four-hour trip as the highway hugs Turnagain Arm and then cuts through a mountain passage.
Alaska has already seen a several plane crashes this year, including a June 28 crash that killed a pilot from Steilacoom, Wash., and two passengers on a commercial tour in the Alaska Range. The Soldotna crash comes a day after two teenagers were killed when the Asiana flight crashed at San Francisco’s airport.
The municipal airport is located about a mile from Soldotna’s commercial business area and is adjacent to the Kenai River, according to the city’s website.
The runway is 5,000 foot long and paved.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
