ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 30 (UPI) — The pilot of a Civil Air Patrol aircraft that struck two office buildings in Anchorage, Alaska, did not have permission to fly the aircraft, officials said.
Doug Demarest was killed when the CAP-owned Cessna 172S he was piloting crashed into a building where his wife works and another housing government workers. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are investigating the crash. No one on the ground was hurt.
“Obviously we have high winds in the area, but we’re also looking beyond that,” said Clint Johnson, Alaska chief for the NTSB.
Demarest joined air patrol, a civilian volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, in 2010. Neighbors reported seeing police cars and an ambulance outside his home the night before the crash. The next morning, Demarest took the aircraft without authorization, investigators said.
Gov. Bill Walker visited the crash site and said, “The Brady Building and the Whale Building house hundreds of state of Alaska employees who, thankfully, were not hurt. My heart goes out to those who lost a loved one in today’s crash. I thank all of the brave first responders who were on the scene this morning.”
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