Nov. 4 – One person was taken to the hospital Saturday afternoon after a small plane crashed while taking off from a runway in Anchorage’s Lake Hood, aviation and airport fire officials said.
The pilot was the only occupant of the plane when it “crashed on departure” from runway 32, said Clint Johnson, head of Alaska’s National Transportation Safety Board. Johnson described the plane as a CubCrafters Super Cub and said the crash was reported shortly after 2:30 p.m.
Dan Juarez, deputy chief of operations for the Anchorage Airport Police and Fire Department, said the male pilot “extricated himself before we got there,” describing a quick joint response with the Anchorage Fire Department. The pilot suffered “some injuries” and was taken to the hospital, Juarez said.
The NTSB is investigating the crash, Johnson said.
Emergency services were seen on the runway at the scene of the accident on Saturday afternoon. Juarez said “there was a minor fuel leak” that environmental responders had been contacted to resolve, and that efforts to remove the plane from the runway would be in coordination with the NTSB.
Federal aircraft registration records show the aircraft model is a CubCrafters CC18-180, which resembles a Piper PA-18, and the U.S. Department of the Interior is listed as the aircraft’s registered owner.
