Plane crashes after takeoff in Alaska, bursts into flames: no survivors found

A plane carrying two people crashed in Alaska and burst into flames on Tuesday.

A Douglas DC-4 took off from the Fairbanks International Airport before crashing 7 miles south into the Tanana River, Alaska State Troopers said in a news release. No survivors have been found.

The aircraft caught fire after it "slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river," troopers said. Officials received reports of the crash at 10:03 a.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Witness captures crash site from the air

Michaela Matherne captured a photo of the crash site at 10:08 a.m. during her flight from Galena, Alaska to Fairbanks.

"We were just a few minutes from landing in Fairbanks when I saw the smoke and flames. It was right on the river," Matherne told USA TODAY via Facebook Messenger. "It must’ve just happened when we passed it."

She said their pilot was sent to verify the coordinates of the crash.

Plane was a military aircraft

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as a Douglas C-54 while troopers referred to it as a DC-4, a military aircraft known to have been used during World War II.

The plane fits a flight crew of three and offers standard passenger seating for 44 with a maximum of 86, according to Airliners.net, a community of aviation photography enthusiasts. Most of that type of aircraft have been altered to freighters, the group says.