4 killed in plane crash at Alaska military base

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AP) — Four airmen were killed when a cargo plane crashed during a training run at an Alaska Air Force base, sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air, military authorities and witnesses said.

Three of the men were in the Alaska Air National Guard and the fourth was on active duty at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Air Force Col. John McMullen said today. Their names have not been released pending notification of relatives.

“We lost four members of our Arctic Warrior family and it’s a loss felt across our entire joint installation,” McMullen said in a statement, referring to Elmendorf and its adjacent Army base, Fort Richardson.

The C-17 was from the 3rd Wing, based at Elmendorf near downtown Anchorage. The crash happened about 6:14 p.m. Wednesday during a training demonstration for an upcoming weekend air show, Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins said.