NTSB: Pilot safely evacuated passengers from burning plane

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) – Federal investigators credit a pilot with safely evacuating passengers before flames consumed an Alaska commuter plane after it crashed.

The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday that the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot spotted the flames and helped five passengers get clear of the airplane at the Bethel airport July 8.

Authorities have not identified the pilot or the three adults and two children on board.

Three people were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Grant Aviation says its pilot is recovering from a severely sprained collarbone.

Investigators say the pilot was making a second attempt to land the Cessna 208B aircraft on a flight from Newtok.

The NTSB says the pilot missed the plane’s first landing and the aircraft stalled while turning and crashed between two runways.
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Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com