The pilot killed in a Cessna 172 that smashed into a building in downtown Anchorage, Alaska on Tuesday was not authorized to fly the aircraft used in volunteer search-and-rescue missions, authorities said, according to ABC News.
Doug Demarest, 42, of Anchorage, died when the small plane clipped an office building and slammed into another commercial building. The plane belongs to the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that is made up of volunteers who help with search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security across the country, according to a statement from the national group. Demarest had joined in 2010, according to ABC News.
One witness, Vince Maiorano, was working as a line cook at Snow City Cafe across the street when he heard the plane strike a transformer. He and a co-worker ran up to the plane to see if anyone was inside, but they didn't see anybody and were driven back by large flames that overtook the aircraft, according to The Seattle Times.
"We heard a loud whoosh noise when the transformer went out, and that's when the power went out on the whole block," Maiorano said.
Clint Johnson, Alaska region chief for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the crash happened amid wind conditions but that the agency isn't ruling out anything as a cause. The NTSB looks at pilot error, mechanical problems and weather in its investigations.
The first building struck houses a law firm, Dorsey & Whitney, where the pilot's wife, Katherine Demarest, is employed as an attorney, said Bryn Vaaler, an attorney and chief marketing officer based at the firm's Minneapolis headquarters, according to the NBC News. As reported by HNGN, the crash occurred early in the morning, before most businesses in the area are open.
