Pilot killed in Alaska crash wasn't authorized to fly
plane
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The pilot of a small plane
that smashed into a building in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday was not authorized
to fly the aircraft used in volunteer search-and-rescue missions, authorities
said.
Doug Demarest, 42, of Anchorage, died when the Cessna 172 clipped
an office building and slammed into a commercial building, according to the FBI,
which is helping investigate the crash.
The plane belongs to the Civil
Air Patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that is made up of
volunteers who help with search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland
security across the country, according to a statement from the national group.
Demarest joined the patrol in 2010.
No one on the ground was hurt and
there was no indication anyone else was aboard the plane, FBI spokeswoman Staci
Feger-Pellessier said. Neither agency would release additional details about
Demarest or how he acquired the plane.
The early morning crash happened
before most businesses opened for the day in the heart of downtown, an area
surrounded by offices, hotels and restaurants.
The first building hit
houses a law firm, Dorsey & Whitney, where the pilot's wife, Katherine
Demarest, is employed as an attorney, said Bryn Vaaler, an attorney and chief
marketing officer based at the firm's Minneapolis headquarters. Vaaler said he
didn't have any information about the Demarests' marital status. He also didn't
know if anyone was in the firm's sixth-floor offices at the time of the
crash.
Kent Haina, a 747 captain for UPS, said he was taking out his
garbage when he saw the plane go down at a shallow angle and disappear behind a
building. He then heard a loud thud and saw a plume of black smoke.
Haina
said the wind was howling at the time.
"(The engine) didn't sound like it
was in trouble, but the weather was pretty windy," he said. "I said to myself,
'It's not good weather to be flying in.'"
Clint Johnson, Alaska region
chief for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the crash happened amid
blustery winds but that the agency is not ruling out anything as a cause. The
NTSB looks at pilot error, mechanical problems and weather in its
investigations.
The plane came in over the shoreline toward downtown and
clipped the corner of the office building, where some state employees work. Then
it crashed into the lower side of an adjacent multistory commercial building,
setting it on fire.
Crews responded quickly and had the blaze under
control, fire officials said. The FBI said neither building has structural
damage.
Vince Maiorano was working as a line cook at Snow City Cafe
across the street when he heard the plane strike a transformer. He and a
co-worker ran up to the plane to see if anyone was inside, but they didn't see
anybody and were driven back by large flames that overtook the
aircraft.
"We heard a loud whoosh noise when the transformer went out,
and that's when the power went out on the whole block," Maiorano
said.
The commercial building appeared to be unoccupied at the time of
the crash, Don Tallman of the Anchorage Fire Department. Authorities cordoned
off an area around the building, closing several roads.
Alaska Gov. Bill
Walker was among those checking out the scene Tuesday. Because one of the
buildings houses state workers, Walker said he wanted to "find out what's going
on."
The Federal Aviation Administration, NTSB and FBI are
investigating. |
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