'State of shock': 10 killed in Alaska seaplane crash - NBCNews.com

A small airplane crashed Sunday morning at an airport in Alaska, killing the pilot and nine passengers. A team from the NTSB is expected to arrive this afternoon to investigate. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

Ten people were killed Sunday when their plane was "engulfed in flames" at the Soldotna Airport in Alaska.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were still trying to determine what caused the DHC-3T single propeller aircraft, owned by Rediske Air, to crash.

The pilot and co-owner of the company, Walter Rediske, 42, was described as "highly experienced" by a spokesman.

"This is a real hard time for everyone," said Andrew Harcombe, who also described himself as a family friend.

"Walter was a highly experienced pilot and lifelong Alaskan. We are all in a state of shock."   

He added that the company will cooperate fully with investigators.

Rashah Mcchesney / Peninsula Clarion via AP

Investigators look at the remains of a fixed-wing aircraft that was engulfed in flames Sunday in Soldotna, Alaska.

The Soldotna Police Department said the accident took place around 11:20 a.m. (3:20 p.m. ET), and emergency responders arrived to find the aircraft engulfed in flames. 

"We saw the plume immediately when we left the station," Capt. Lesley Quelland of Central Emergency Services, told the Anchorage Daily News, adding that the big black cloud was visible from the station at least three miles away.

Harcombe said the air charter company only flew in Alaska landing at both airports and more remote locations across the state.

The company, formed in April 1991 is registered to Walter and Lyla Rediske. 

Clint Johnson, chief of the NTSB in Anchorage, told NBC's affiliate KTUU that everyone aboard the plane was killed after it crashed, though it is unclear whether the accident happened during takeoff or landing.

The NTSB will now conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of crash, spokesman Eric Weiss told TODAY on Monday. 

Clint Johnson, chief of the NTSB in Anchorage, told NBC's Alaska affiliate that everyone aboard the plane were killed after the it crashed, though it is unclear whether the accident happened during takeoff or landing.

Soldotna is south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula.

This story was originally published on Mon Jul 8, 2013 10:49 AM EDT