Two people were killed in a plane crash at Merrill Field in Anchorage on Saturday afternoon, police reported. Witnesses told police the plane crashed just after taking off.
The Anchorage Fire Department sent 14 units to respond to the crash, which the small airport's control tower reported shortly after 3:30 p.m. The Anchorage Police Department responded, as well.
The crash occurred at the western edge of the airport, a 436-acre commercial services airport near the downtown area of Alaska's largest city. Based on the tail number, the plane was a 1972 Cessna 150 registered to a Big Lake address.
Officers pulled an unidentifed male and female from the crash, and medics transported them to a local hospital, where the plane's occupants were pronounced dead.
Police spokesperson Jennifer Castro did not say whether the two were responsive when the officers first arrived, and an employee at Merrill Field said the details of the incident were still unclear.
Police are notifying next of kin and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Contact Jerzy Shedlock at jerzy(at)alaskadispatch.com