Pilot reported fire on fuel-laden plane and tried to return to airport before deadly Alaska crash [Video]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – One of the two pilots of a vintage military plane that was delivering heating oil to a remote Alaska Native village reported a fire on board shortly before the aircraft crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both of them and leaving debris over a wide area, a federal transportation official said Wednesday.

The pilot made radio contact about the in-flight emergency shortly after taking off Tuesday, said Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office. They were attempting to return to Fairbanks International Airport when they lost contact, he said.

The C54D-DC airplane — a military version of the World War II-era Douglas DC-4 aircraft — crashed about 7 miles (11 kilometers) outside Fairbanks. It hit a steep hill, slid down an embankment to the bank of the Tanana River and burst into flames. No survivors were found, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers said recovery efforts would …