Fairchild C-123 Plane Crash in Alaska

A big cargo airplane, Fairchild C-123, crashed Sunday in Denali National Park and had three people onboard who are presumed dead, the National Park Service said, via yahoo.

The Fairchild C-123 was registered to All West Freight Inc. of Delta Junction, Alaska. It crashed into the south-facing slope of Mount Healy within a mile of the park headquarters and about 200 yards north of the only road into the park. The craft went down about 3 p.m. Sunday near the eastern edge of the park, about 180 miles north of Anchorage.

The plane burst into flames on impact and started a wildland fire that was contained at approximately one acre, the park service said.

Park spokeswoman Kris Fister said it was initially difficult to determine the number of fatalities because “the plane pretty much disintegrated.”

Names of those killed weren’t yet released.