![Gary Contento Smoke rises after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The plane took off in the morning from Fairbanks International Airport. It crashed about 7 miles (11 kms.) from there and "slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire," according to Alaska State Troopers. (Gary Contento via AP)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/7adb52cfc45d4c8cb83cfcfed9092651/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
Smoke rises after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The plane took off in the morning from Fairbanks International Airport. It crashed about 7 miles (11 kms.) from there and "slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire," according to Alaska State Troopers. (Gary Contento via AP)
![Gary Contento Smoke rises after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The plane took off in the morning from Fairbanks International Airport. It crashed about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from there and "slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire," according to Alaska State Troopers. (Gary Contento via AP)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/7b83e910f5e14c91b32acc972903e32d/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
Smoke rises after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The plane took off in the morning from Fairbanks International Airport. It crashed about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from there and "slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire," according to Alaska State Troopers. (Gary Contento via AP)
![Michaela Matherne A fire burns after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Michaela Matherne via AP)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/032eb442d4c848e8b7b28b565997cd96/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
A fire burns after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Michaela Matherne via AP)
![Michaela Matherne A fire burns after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Michaela Matherne via AP)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/f7875a9da07a4181a0ddf599db9a3ebb/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
A fire burns after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Michaela Matherne via AP)
![Henry Burroughs FILE - U.S. Air Force Skymasters line up at Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany on July 7, 1948, to unload the first shipment of coal flown to blockaded Berlin. A Douglas C-54 Skymaster has crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska. The C-54 is a military version of the Douglas DC-4, which was a World War II-era airplane. The website www.airlines.net said standard passenger seating for a DC-4 was 44 during its heyday, but most have been converted to freighters. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/225601dc5ea6468f8f29d6ca0cf8ab72/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - U.S. Air Force Skymasters line up at Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany on July 7, 1948, to unload the first shipment of coal flown to blockaded Berlin. A Douglas C-54 Skymaster has crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska. The C-54 is a military version of the Douglas DC-4, which was a World War II-era airplane. The website www.airlines.net said standard passenger seating for a DC-4 was 44 during its heyday, but most have been converted to freighters. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs, File)
![Henry Burroughs FILE - A U.S. Air Force C-54 Skymaster comes in to land at Berlin's Templehoff Air Base as a group of blockaded Berliners watch on Aug. 10, 1948. A Douglas C-54 Skymaster has crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, not pictured. The C-54 is a military version of the Douglas DC-4, which was a World War II-era airplane. The website www.airlines.net said standard passenger seating for a DC-4 was 44 during its heyday, but most have been converted to freighters. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/1e706d71d62745f1b74c340510883bf4/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - A U.S. Air Force C-54 Skymaster comes in to land at Berlin's Templehoff Air Base as a group of blockaded Berliners watch on Aug. 10, 1948. A Douglas C-54 Skymaster has crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, not pictured. The C-54 is a military version of the Douglas DC-4, which was a World War II-era airplane. The website www.airlines.net said standard passenger seating for a DC-4 was 44 during its heyday, but most have been converted to freighters. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs, File)
![Uncredited A fire burns after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Alaska State Troopers via AP)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/49ea2b3fb0b04ae4901144f7e289f9bd/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
A fire burns after a Douglas C-54 Skymaster plane crashed into the Tanana River outside Fairbanks, Alaska, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Alaska State Troopers via AP)