Plane overturns after emergency landing near Fairbanks on New Year’s Eve

Two people were rescued Tuesday night after their plane overturned during an emergency landing near Fairbanks, officials said.

The pilot and passenger were flying to Fairbanks that evening when the Cessna 170 suffered a loss of engine power and made an emergency landing into a frozen bog about 10 nautical miles southwest of Fairbanks, said Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska chief.

The plane flipped as it landed in deep snow, but Johnson said there were no injuries. An Army Arctic Dustoff crew from Fort Wainwright’s C Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment left before midnight to rescue the stranded pilot and passenger.

The pilot and passenger were “well-prepared for the environmental conditions,” according to a statement from U.S. Army Alaska. They were brought to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

Information about the plane’s origin and exactly when the crash happened was not immediately available.

Johnson said investigators are looking into what caused the engine to lose power. The plane has significant damage, he said.