What we know about the Alaska plane crash that killed all 8 on board
Plane that crashed at a remote military site in western Alaska, killing all eight people on board, was making its second runway approach in heavy fog when it lost contact
The National Transportation Safety Board logo and signage are seen at a news conference at NTSB headquarters in Washington. (Photo: AP)
A plane crashed at a remote military outpost in western Alaska, killing all eight people on board, after the aircraft lost contact whilst attempting a second landing in dense fog, officials said on Friday, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The Cessna’s two pilots were unable to see the gravel airstrip and were navigating entirely by instruments when the aircraft went down around midday on Thursday. Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional chief, told a virtual press briefing that rules had forced the crew to abandon their first landing attempt due to poor visibility. The plane then crashed on its second approach, roughly half a kilometre short of the runway. The airstrip sits amid mountainous terrain on three sides, and the Federal Aviation Administration advises pilots to rely on GPS and other instruments when landing there.
ALASKA PLANE CRASH: Eight people, including two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees, have been killed in a tragic small plane crash in Alaska after pilots encountered zero-visibility conditions. @BretBaier reports. pic.twitter.com/0tRnStis6K
Killed in the crash were the two pilots, two staff members from the US Army Corps of Engineers, and four contractors. Two of the contractors worked for Calista Brice, a group of firms providing construction, engineering and logistics services in remote regions, and a subsidiary of the Alaska Native regional corporation Calista Corp.
Officials have not disclosed what task the group had been carrying out at the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site, located around 725 kilometres west of Anchorage on Alaska’s south-western coast.
‘Devastating loss,’ says Air Force commander
US Air Force Lieutenant General Robert Davis, who heads Alaskan Command, described those killed as “dedicated professionals carrying out a vital mission in a demanding environment.” He added that the crash represented a heavy blow to military personnel and the wider community they serve.
Investigators from the NTSB were travelling to the crash site on Friday. Johnson said search crews located the scattered wreckage after radar tracked the twin-engine Cessna 441’s final flight path before contact was lost.
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Weather had been deteriorating quickly on Thursday as fog swept into the area. According to Carrie Haisley, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s Alaska sector operations centre, an automated weather station near the airfield recorded visibility of around 16 kilometres shortly before the crash but a reading taken roughly 15 minutes afterwards showed visibility had dropped to under 400 metres.
A former FAA safety official, who spent 17 years overseeing airport safety and accident investigations, said conditions appeared severe enough that the crew should have diverted to another airfield instead of attempting to land.
The radar site, built in the 1950s as part of an early-warning network against Soviet missile attacks, now monitors airspace toward Russia, North Korea and China. The base itself closed in 1983 once newer radar equipment was installed, and today is visited only occasionally by civilian contractors carrying out maintenance work.
The US Army Corps of Engineers confirmed its two employees were travelling as part of a project team supporting US Air Force operations, but gave no further details.
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The flight was operated by Anchorage-based charter firm Security Aviation, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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The National Transportation Safety Board logo and signage are seen at a news conference at NTSB headquarters in Washington. (Photo: AP) 
