A small commuter plane en route to Nome, Alaska, crashed on sea ice in western Alaska, killing all 10 people on board, authorities confirmed Friday.
U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Mike Salerno said rescuers located the wreckage while searching by helicopter. Two rescue swimmers were deployed to investigate.
The single-engine Bering Air turboprop plane, a Cessna Caravan, departed Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot. Officials lost contact with the aircraft less than an hour after its 2:37 p.m. departure. The crash site was about 48 kilometers southeast of Nome and 19 kilometers offshore, the Coast Guard reported.
According to radar forensic data from the U.S. Civil Air Patrol, the aircraft experienced a sudden drop in speed and elevation around 3:18 p.m. Thursday. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said the cause remains unknown. No distress signals were received, despite the plane being equipped with an emergency locator transmitter.
The crash marks the third major U.S. aviation accident in eight days. A commercial jetliner and Army helicopter collision near Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29 killed 67 people, while a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia on Jan. 31 left seven dead.
Most Alaska communities rely on air travel due to the lack of road connections, especially in winter. Authorities warned residents against conducting independent search efforts due to hazardous weather conditions.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska, with Nome, Kotzebue, and Unalakleet as its main hubs. The airline operates twice-daily flights to most destinations. Flight tracking data showed two Bering Air planes conducting grid searches near the crash site Friday morning.
State and federal agencies joined the search effort, with aerial and ground teams scouring ice-covered waters and frozen tundra. The National Guard deployed a helicopter Friday, and the Coast Guard planned to drop a buoy to track ice movement. A ground team on snowmobiles searched along the coast and inland.
Unalakleet, a village of 690 people, lies 240 kilometers southeast of Nome and is a key stop on the Iditarod Trail. Nome, famous for the Gold Rush and the Iditarod’s finish line, planned prayer vigils for the victims, their families, and search teams.
Alaska’s U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, extended their condolences, while U.S. Rep. Nick Begich offered assistance to Nome and Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Source: Swifteradio.com
