Wreckage found this month on an Alaska glacier is a US Air Force plane that crashed in 1952, killing all 52 people aboard, military officials said.

Evidence found at the crash site confirms it is the missing C-124A Globemaster, but the military is not eliminating other possibilities because much investigation still needs to be done, said Army Captain Jamie Dobson.

Processing DNA samples from relatives of those on board the plane could take up to six years, she added.

“We’re still at the very beginning of this investigation,” she said.

“This is very close to the starting line, not the finish line.”

The Alaska National Guard discovered wreckage and possibly bones on June 10 on Colony Glacier. An eight-man Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command arrived last week and completed its work on Tuesday at the glacier about 64 kilometres east of Anchorage.

The team recovered materials like a life-support system from the plane’s wreckage and possible bones from the glacier. The evidence was taken to the command’s lab in Hawaii for analysis.

The debris was discovered while guardsmen were flying a Blackhawk helicopter during a training mission near the glacier. The guardsmen flew over the area several times.

Federal aviation officials implemented temporary flight restrictions over the area as the military investigation was conducted.