Alaska plane, that went missing, found crashed on ice, all 10 onboard dead
All 10 people on board the plane were adults, and the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip.
A small airplane that had vanished in western Alaska on its way to the hub community of Nome was located Friday on sea ice.
According to the authorities, all 10 people on board have lost their lives.
US Coast Guard spokesperson Mike Salerno informed the Associated Press that rescuers were searching the aircraft's last known location by helicopter when they spotted the wreckage. They lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate.
The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot, according to Alaska’s Department of Public Safety.
The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 pm, and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 degrees celsius), according to the National Weather Service.
Officials lost contact with the plane less than an hour later. The Coast Guard said it went missing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome. The aircraft was 12 miles (19 kilometers) offshore, according to the Coast Guard.
It was operating at its maximum passenger capacity, according to the airline’s description of the plane.
Radar forensic data provided by the US Civil Air Patrol indicated that at about 3:18 pm, the plane had “some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said.
What exactly happened to the plane is not yet clear. The Coast Guard has suggested that it did not get any kind of distress signal from the plane.
Planes carry an emergency locating transmitter. If exposed to seawater, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which then relays that message back to the Coast Guard to indicate an aircraft may be in distress. There have been no such messages received by the Coast Guard, McIntyre-Coble said.
All 10 people on board the plane were adults, and the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to the Alaska State Troopers.
Local, state, and federal agencies assisted in the search effort, combing stretches of ice-dotted waters and scouring miles of tundra.
Alaska's US senators, Lisa Murkowski, and Dan Sullivan, issued statements saying their thoughts and prayers were with the passengers, their families, rescuers, and the Nome community.
US Representative Nick Begich said on the social platform X that he was ready to assist Nome and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy “in any way we can.”
Third major aviation mishap in eight days
The plane's disappearance in Alaska marks the third major US aviation mishap in eight days. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation’s capital on January 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground.
Most Alaska communities are not connected to the state's main road system, and airplanes are often the only option for travel of any distance in rural areas, particularly in winter. The region is prone to sudden snow squalls and high winds in the winter.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue, and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-daily scheduled flights Monday through Saturday. Two Bering airplanes appeared to be searching in a grid pattern just off the coastline on Friday morning, according to the flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. The village is on the Iditarod trail, route of the world's most famous sled dog race, during which mushers and their teams must cross the frozen Norton Sound.
Nome, a Gold Rush town, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile (1,610-kilometer) Iditarod. The city said prayer vigils would be held Friday for those on board the plane, friends and family and those involved in search efforts.