Planes Collide in Alaska, 4 Dead

Two single-engine float planes collided as they flew near an Alaskan lake and one crashed and burned, killing the four people aboard, authorities said. The second plane, a Cessna 206 with only the pilot aboard, was able to return to Anchorage International Airport and make an emergency landing despite significant damage. But a Cessna 180 was destroyed by the impact and fire, an FAA spokesman said. "It was engulfed in flames on the ground," Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

The crash around Amber Lake, 80 miles north of Anchorage, came nearly three weeks after another in-flight collision that remarkably left the 13 people aboard the two aircraft unhurt. The State Medical Examiner's office was working to identify the dead. There was no immediate word on how the collision occurred. (More plane crash stories.)