Air taxi in Alaska crashes, kills 10

MANILA, Philippines – All 10 people on board an air taxi in Alaska died on July 7 after their plane crashed.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that the De Havilland DHC-3 Otter airplane crashed at the Soldotna Airport at 11:20 am. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane was operated by Rediske Air, a family-owned business.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was still trying to figure out who was onboard the plane and where it was going. According to the NTSB’s Clint Johnson, the plane was just taking off when the incident occurred, and while the person saw the plane taxiing out for takeoff, it didn’t see an actual takeoff attempt.

Johnson added, “The next thing they knew is they saw it on fire, unfortunately, after the accident.”

Fire crews received the call for help at 11:24 am, and reached the airport at around 11:30 am. While crews took 10 minutes to put out the fire, no survivors were found as they all died inside the plane.

Andrew Harcombe, identifying himself as a spokesman for Rediske Air, said the pilot was Walter Rediske. Rediske was aged 42, according to public records. – Rappler.com