Eight Killed as Charter Plane Crashes Near Remote Alaska Radar Site

Eight people have been killed after a civilian-contracted charter aircraft crashed near a remote radar facility in western Alaska, US military officials have confirmed.

The aircraft went down on Thursday, August 20, near the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport, about 450 miles (725 kilometres) west of Anchorage.

The US military’s Alaskan Command confirmed that all eight people aboard the aircraft died in the crash. The victims comprised two pilots and six passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft had departed Anchorage and was heading towards Cape Newenham when it crashed west of the radar site’s airport at approximately 12:15 p.m. local time.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region chief, Clint Johnson, the aircraft was believed to have crashed while approaching the remote facility.

The aircraft was described by the military as a civilian-contracted plane carrying personnel on what officials called a vital mission.

US Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and the Eleventh Air Force, described the incident as a devastating loss.

He said the immediate priority was supporting the families, friends and colleagues of those who died, while commending search-and-recovery personnel who responded to the crash.

The Cape Newenham facility forms part of a network of remote radar installations used to monitor aircraft activity in Alaska’s airspace and along the state’s borders. The site is managed by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center.

The remote location presented challenges for the recovery operation, with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center launching a search-and-rescue mission after receiving reports of an aircraft incident in the area.

The identities of those killed had not immediately been released as authorities worked to notify their relatives.

The cause of the crash remains unknown.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation, with the FAA assisting. Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft, its flight path and the circumstances surrounding the crash as they work to determine what caused the accident.

The tragedy adds to a series of fatal aviation accidents in the United States in recent years and again highlights the difficulties involved in operating aircraft in some of Alaska’s most remote and challenging locations.