Air Force cargo plane crashes in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 29 (UPI) -- An Air Force C-17 cargo plane with a four-member crew practicing for an air show crashed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, military officials said.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins said it was "likely there are fatalities involving this mishap" that occurred Wednesday evening, the Anchorage Daily News reported Thursday.

Investigators were working to determine why the aircraft went down while practicing for the 2010 Arctic Thunder air show scheduled for this weekend, Atkins said. The four-engine jet is considered the most advanced cargo aircraft in the world.

"It's not an ejection aircraft," Atkins said. "I mean, it's not like a fighter where you can eject out of the aircraft. So, likely nobody escaped the aircraft prior to the crash."

Senior officials say the crash happened in the northeast quadrant of the base, KTVA-TV, Anchorage, reported.

Witnesses told KTVA they saw the aircraft flying low over the hillside, followed by a giant plume of smoke coming from the base.

A board of officers is investigating the accident, the Air Force said in a release.

Wednesday's crash is the second this summer near downtown Anchorage, the Daily News said. A light plane went down in June after taking off from Merrill Field, killing a child and injuring four other people.

A decision will be made soon about whether the air show would go on as planned, base officials said.