10 people died Sunday morning, after an air taxi crashed and burst into flames at a small airport in Alaska.
Just after 11 a.m., a de Havilland DHC3 Otter aircraft was engulfed by fire at an airport in Soldotna, a city with a population of about 4,000 people located around 75 miles southwest of Anchorage.
Firefighters from Central Emergency Services tried to get there in time, but before they could take action on the scene, the single engine propeller plane had nearly burnt to the end, the Associated Press reported.
According to Capt. Lesley Quelland from the emergency response group, a huge, dark cloud of smoke furling from the site of the fire was visible from her station three miles away.
"We saw the plume immediately when we left the station," the Anchorage Daily News reported Quelland as saying.
Firefighters located the aircraft, which "crashed off the side of the runway and...was fully involved in flames," Quelland continued.
For about 10 minutes, crews worked to put out the flames.
Everyone on board the aircraft died, Quelland confirmed.
Clint Johnson, one of the head investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the deceased included nine passengers and the sole pilot.
The State Medical Examiner's Office in Anchorage received the remains of the 10 people who died for examination and identification.
The AP reported that Rediske Air worker Will Satathite confirmed the plane was flown by the company's pilot and owner Willy Rediske.
The crash is currently under investigation. The cause of the fire is still unknown, though some said that initial reports tell of the plane spiraling into the ground following its departure.
Just one day before this fatal accident, a Boeing 777 crashed into San Francisco International Airport, killing two teenage girls and injuring dozens more.
