State decides against cleanup at site of fatal fuel plane crash near Fairbanks

An aerial image of a Douglas C-54 cargo plane’s April 23, 2024 clang tract on nan Tanana River adjacent Fairbanks. Both unit members were killed. (From AST via NTSB)

The authorities Department of Environmental Conservation has nary plans to cleanable up nan tract wherever a cargo level collapsed and burned adjacent Fairbanks past month, sidesplitting some unit members. The agency says tests show nan occurrence consumed astir each of nan 4,700 gallons of liquid substance connected board.

The Douglas C-54 crashed on April 23 a fewer minutes aft takeoff from Fairbanks International connected a formation to Kobuk pinch 3,400 gallons of unleaded fuel, 2 100-gallon propane tanks, positive 1,300 gallons of aviation fuel, aliases av-gas, for nan plane’s 4 engines. But tests conducted nan time aft nan clang detected hardly immoderate substance successful samples of vegetation and soils astatine nan site.

“What we recovered was very small substance near onsite,” says Kimberley Maher, DEC’s on-site coordinator of nan clang response. “Most of nan av-gas and substance that was being transported arsenic cargo seemed to person been consumed by nan fire.”

The cargo level that collapsed Tuesday, April 23, 2024, was flying to a distant Alaska organization to present fuel. The level is photographed present parked successful Fairbanks successful August 2023. (KUAC)

Maher she says nan National Transportation Safety Board came to nan aforesaid conclusion. NTSB Alaska agency main Clint Johnson says nan agency besides revised its first study connected nan substance nan level was hauling successful a preliminary report.

“The first reports from nan usability nan time of nan mishap were that it was substance oil,” Johnson said. “That has since been changed, since nan investigation has continued, and now they are reporting that it was successful truth unleaded substance that was headed to Kobuk.”

Wasilla based Alaska Air Fuel owned and operated nan C-54. That’s nan subject type of nan DC-4, which is really first reports identified nan plane. The fiery crash occurred connected a steep slope of nan Tanana River adjacent Cripple Creek.

Maher says nan DEC squad that checked nan tract recovered grounds of substance successful only 1 area.

“We did find 1 small spot wherever location seemed to beryllium immoderate substance that did get soaked up by nan vegetative mat that had elevated substance levels,” she said successful an question and reply Tuesday.

But she said that’ll apt beryllium surgery down by microbes that provender connected carbon, 1 of nan elements that dress up gasoline. Maher says that “natural attenuation” process would apt return attraction of nan mini amounts of substance that didn’t get burned. She says DEC’s determination not to effort immoderate cleanup besides reflects nan trouble of accessing nan area.

“The tract is simply a very steep bluff, and it would beryllium difficult to maneuver immoderate dense instrumentality astir it,” she said. “And pinch nan mini magnitude of substance left, we conscionable expect that to people attenuate.”

Two still images from surveillance video that captured fume and an motor occurrence aboard nan C-54, moments earlier it collapsed connected April 23, 2024. (From NTSB)

Maher said members of nan squad spotted a mini sheen connected nan aboveground of nan Tanana River aft nan crash, but were incapable to get adjacent capable to return liquid aliases stiff samples owed to rotten, unsafe ice. She says DEC apt will cheque nan tract erstwhile much later.

Johnson, nan NTSB chief, says nan conditions besides analyzable betterment of 1 of nan plane’s engines that fell onto nan crystal conscionable earlier nan crash.

“That motor was thrown retired onto nan ice, clear of nan mishap site,” he said Tuesday.

Johnson said NTSB will intimately analyse nan engine, which reportedly was connected occurrence conscionable arsenic nan level began a steep descent that ended successful nan crash.

He anticipates that a last clang investigation study will beryllium completed by this clip adjacent year.

DEC’s Spill Prevention and Response information connected nan level clang has been posted connected its website.