Alaska Commuter Plane’s Final Moments Described

A twin-engine turboprop commuter plane that crashed short of a runway, killing 17 people, nearly rolled over during its approach and did not have its landing gear down, a witness said Tuesday.

Investigators battled brisk winds and freezing temperatures as they began sorting out the final moments of the Ryan Air flight, which crashed Monday evening at Homer Airport. Four people were seriously injured in the crash. The dead included the pilot and co-pilot.

“We’re just securing the scene, finding out who the witnesses are,” said Jim Labelle of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Anchorage office. “It’s a matter of looking at everything and sifting through it.”

The flight originated in Kodiak, and after a stop in Homer was to continue to Kenai and Anchorage, 150 miles to the north.

Labelle said the pilot checked in with the airport’s flight service station when the plane was about two miles from the runway. Everything appeared normal then, Labelle said.

But witness Jon Kleine said he watched the plane pass overhead when it cleared an 80-foot bluff near the runway and said it did not appear to be on a normal approach.

“That guy did not have his landing gear down,” Kleine said. “To my utter astonishment, the plane did half a roll. The left wing went up beyond vertical and then right back down. And right at that same instant I could hear the engines being gunned.”

Witness Tries to Help

The 37-year-old machinist said he ran to the plane after it crashed and dragged two dead passengers aside in an effort to get inside.

“There was a girl in back crying, ‘Help me. Help me.’ There was one other guy who was conscious who was groaning and saying, ‘What happened? What happened?’ The door was just jammed, blocked with seats and junk,” Kleine said.

The aircraft did not break up upon impact but was heavily damaged, authorities said.

Homer Fire District Administrator Robert Purcell said there was a high overcast but visibility was good at the time of the crash.