Nine passengers and the pilot aboard a de Havilland Otter air taxi died when the aircraft reportedly crashed on takeoff at the airport in Sodotna, AK late Sunday morning. The aircraft burned before firefighters could reach it. The airplane reportedly belonged to Rediske Air, of Nikiski, AK and may have been an Otter converted to turboprop using a Honeywell engine.
The accident occurred about 11:20 a.m. local time and no names of the occupants have been been released. The NTSB is sending an investigation team to the scene. It’s among the worst accidents in Alaska since the crash of a similar aircraft.
