Aircraft crashes in Alaska, all 10 on board killed

Alaska, July 8: An aircraft crashed on Sunday at a small Alaska airport, killing all 10 people on board. The aircraft was completely engulfed in flames before firefighters could get to it and save anyone, authorities said.

The de Havilland DHC3 Otter air taxi crashed at about 11 am at the Soldotna airport. Soldotna is a community located on the Kenai Peninsula, about 75 miles southwest of Anchorage.

"We do have 10 fatalities, unfortunately, nine passengers, one pilot," National Transportation Safety Board investigator Clint Johnson told The Associated Press.

Will Satathite was working on Sunday at Rediske Air's Nikiski office and told the Peninsula Clarion newspaper that the aircraft was flown by Nikiski pilot and company owner Willy Rediske with nine passengers onboard.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Meagan Peters said a fire that consumed the aircraft initially kept firefighters from reaching the wreckage.

None of the victims have been identified yet. The Soldotna Police Department said that the bodies of all 10 people have been recovered from the aircraft and sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Anchorage for autopsies and identification.

In a press release, the police said that the weather at the time of the crash was reported to be cloudy with a light wind.

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