An airplane took a nose dive while landing at Merrill Field this afternoon, likely totaling the aircraft but injuring no one, according to Anchorage police. The Cessna 172 was coming in for a landing along the east-west runway at about 4:30 p.m. when wind gusts picked up and began pushing the plane to the left, said Anchorage police Sgt. Ted Smith.
The pilot, who was not named, tried to take back off but was unable to before the crosswind lifted the right wing and forced the left one onto the runway, he said.
As the aircraft left the runway, the wing dug into the grassy median and the plane ground looped, ultimately planting its propeller into the ground, Smith said.
Anchorage Daily News