Update: Crew of fuel plane reported fire just before fatal crash near Fairbanks

Federal officials say the pilots of a cargo plane carrying thousands of gallons of fuel reported a fire just after taking off from Fairbanks Tuesday, then tried to turn back before they died in a fiery crash along the Tanana River. The Federal Aviation Administration said in an incident report Wednesday that both pilots of the Douglas C-54, a four-engine propeller plane, were killed at about 10 a.m. Tuesday in the crash roughly seven miles south of Fairbanks International Airport. Officials have not yet identified the two people killed in the crash or the cause of the onboard fire. The flight was operated by Alaska Air Fuel, according to Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska chief. According to Johnson, the C-54 was carrying 3,200 gallons of fuel oil bound for Kobuk, a small community roughly 300 miles away in the Northwest Arctic Borough.
Alaska Public Media

No survivors found after plane crashes, catches fire in Fairbanks area, officials say

VIDEO/PHOTOS: No survivors have been found after a plane crashed Tuesday morning on the Tanana River, according to authorities. The Alaska State Troopers reported in a dispatch that the plane crashed on the river southwest of Fairbanks near Kallenberg Road, roughly 7 1/4 miles southwest of Fairbanks International Airport. Federal Aviation Administration records for the plane indicate it is a Douglas C-54, a modified military version of the Douglas C-4 civilian airliner. In an update, troopers said two people were onboard when the plane took off at 9:55 a.m., but no survivors have been found. Troopers said they received word of the crash at 10:03 a.m. Troopers asked the public to avoid the area as first responders arrive to the scene.
KTUU-TV NBC 2 Anchorage