At least one person is dead after a small plane crashed into a commercial building in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, fire officials said. All that is known thus far is that the crash occurred at 6:18 a.m. this morning when the plane collided with the Brady Building in the city's downtown section after clipping the corner of an office building, reported the Associated Press. The plane then caught fire and hit the ground, prompting fire crews to arrive on scene to put out the blaze.
Remaining details about the crash are solely based on witness testimony.
Kent Haina, a 747 captain for UPS, said he was taking out his garbage when he saw the plane go down, then disappear behind a building.
"[The engine] didn't sound like it was in trouble, but the weather was pretty windy," he said. "I said to myself, 'It's not good weather to be flying in.'"
Mike Coumbe, a nearby resident, said he heard the plane having trouble, but was unable to locate it before it crashed.
"I heard it circling and I knew it was having problems," he said, according to the Alaska Dispatch News. "I heard the plane and tried to see the plane and I heard it hit — it just stopped."
The circumstances behind the crash are unclear as it occurred during blustery winds and, as such, officials are not ruling anything out as a cause, according to NewsOK.
The death toll is also unclear. Since the aircraft wasn't on a sanctioned flight, it's not clear how many were onboard. Furthermore, the building was believed to have been unoccupied at the time of the crash, but investigators are searching the building to make sure.
The NTSB and FAA are investigating the incident.
