A charter plane he crashed into Western Alaskain one of the most remote areas of the United States, causing the death of all eight people on board. According to the first information released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, the US authority that manages civil aviation), it was a Cessna 441a twin-engine turboprop operated by the Security Aviation company, took off from Anchorage and directed to Cape Newenhamabout 720 km.
The accident occurred around 12.15pm (local time, 10.15pm in Italy) yesterday, Thursday 20 August, when the plane was already close to its destination. They were on board two pilots and six passengersaccording to what was told to the Associated Press by Clint Johnsonresponsible for Alaska of National Transportation Safety Boardthe US federal agency responsible for investigating transportation accidents.
The causes of the accident are not yet known: the plane crashed near theCape Newenham Airportan Air Force landing strip and one of the long range radar sites that make up the surveillance network of the Alaskan skies. These systems are used to track planes that operate in the state’s airspace and along its borders, a delicate task in a particularly large region like this and above all strategically relevant. This is why only military and authorized charter flights can land at this airport.
According to data from the National Meteorological Service, it was there at the time of the accident fog on the runway: just before noon, the visibility was poorless than 800 feet (about 240 meters). As reported by the FAA maps, the airport’s gravel runway is almost 1,200 meters long and is located on the slope of a mountain more than 700 meters high, where the presence of steep terrain on both sides and at the southern end of the runway.
The flight, the authorities explained, was a civil charter under contract: it was chartered by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the victims include two employees of the organization, whose families have already been informed.
