Three killed, seven injured in Alaska plane crash

Los Angels : A small plane crashed in Alaska on Tuesday killing three passengers and injuring seven, authorities said.Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the sea plane, a De Havilland Turbine Otter, crashed on takeoff at Eastwind Lake near Iliamna under unknown circumstances.The three deceased were all out-of-state residents, Megan Peters, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, told .She said five of the injured were taken to hospital and two were treated on site.The National Transportation Safety Board has released some details in the investigation into a plane crash that killed two Greenville families.Two Greenville families were killed in a plane crash in Alaska on Sunday.Memorial services held for families killed in crashAnother memorial service was held Friday for two Greenville families who were killed in a plane crash in Alaska.The de Havilland DHC-3 Otter crashed in Alaska Sunday.The Antonakos and McManus families and the pilot were killed in the crash. Click here to read more about the families.The plane was flying the families from Soldotna Airport to Bear Mountain Lodge.NTSB board member Earl Weener said the plane was in the air



before it crashed and hit the ground in a right wing down, nose roll position. He said the propeller showed evidence of rotation on impact.Weener said all the bodies were found inside the plane and some were still in their seat belts.He said the wreckage was found 2,320 feet from the departure runway and 88 feet off the right side of the runway.According to Weener, the control cables and connections to the flight control surfaces were intact at the time of the crash.Investigators said they recovered five cellphones which have been sent to the NTSB lab in Washington, D.C.They said they will see if there is any evidence on the cellphones that allow them to better understand what happened in the last moments of the flight.Weener said investigators continue to gather information about the plane manufacturer, ownership and details of the trip including weight and balance.Weener said the plane did have a device called SPOT.He said these devices can be set by the pilot to send information such as altitude and speed to satellite uplink.Weener said the wreckage from the crash has been moved to a hangar and the engine and propeller are being sent to a lab for investigation. The rest of the wreckage is being analyzed at the scene.