Iowa native confirmed killed in Guard plane crash in Alaska

The military now confirms a Cedar Rapids area native is among the dead from a military cargo plane crash in Alaska.

Major Aaron Malone and three other airmen were on the C-17 when it went down in a ball of fire Wednesday night at an air force base near Anchorage.

Major Malone was a graduate of North Linn High School in Coggon. He was assigned to the Alaska Air National Guard's 249th Airlift Squadron.

The plane was training ahead of an upcoming air show this weekend.

The crash sent a fireball hundreds of feet into the air and damaged a section of the Alaska Railroad's main track, forcing the railroad to close a stretch of the line until repairs are made. The line is heavily traveled by tourists who now will be transported through the area by motor coach until repairs are made, the railroad said. Freight train traffic has been suspended.

Here's a bio on Maj. Malone from the AP:

Malone served for more than 12 years in the Air National Guard. He received his commission as a second lieutenant from the Academy of Military Science in April 1998 and graduated from undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in August 1999 with his Air Force pilot wings.He was initially assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard but later transferred to the 186th Fighter Squadron, Montana Air National Guard, where he flew the F-16 "Fighting Falcon."While with the Montana Air National Guard, he flew air missions in the 9/11 aftermath for Operation Noble Eagle and deployed to the Korean Peninsula.He transferred into the Alaska Air National Guard in 2008, when it started to fly the C-17 "Globemaster III" aircraft. He took an extended military leave of absence from his civilian employer, Alaska Airlines, to help set up the new 249th Airlift Squadron.

He was initially assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard but later transferred to the 186th Fighter Squadron, Montana Air National Guard, where he flew the F-16 "Fighting Falcon."

While with the Montana Air National Guard, he flew air missions in the 9/11 aftermath for Operation Noble Eagle and deployed to the Korean Peninsula.

He transferred into the Alaska Air National Guard in 2008, when it started to fly the C-17 "Globemaster III" aircraft. He took an extended military leave of absence from his civilian employer, Alaska Airlines, to help set up the new 249th Airlift Squadron.

Malone had more than 2,100 military flying hours in the T-37, T-38, F-16 and C-17 aircraft, and routinely flew combat missions in the C17 in Afghanistan and Iraq.