Search under way as Bering Air plane carrying 10 people disappears while flying over Alaska
7 February 2025, 09:09
A search is under way after a Bering Air plane carrying 10 people went missing while flying over Alaska.
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The plane lost contact on its flight from Unalakleet to Nome on Thursday afternoon, with rescuers searching into the night for any sign of the aircraft.
There were nine passengers and a pilot on board, according to Alaska's Department of Public Safety.
Authorities are now working to determine its last known co-ordinates.
The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2.37pm, and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air.
The aircraft was 12 miles (19km) off shore, according to the US Coast Guard.
"Staff at Bering Air are working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going," Mr Olson said.
Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, about 150 miles (240km) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (640kms) northwest of Anchorage.
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Local media are reporting a Bering Air flight is overdue at Nome and search & rescue efforts are now underway. #8E445 departed Unalakleet at 23:38 UTC (14:38 local)
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 7, 2025
Last position received at 00:16 UTC
64.330212, -164.02679
5,300 feethttps://t.co/MgIBmtsp2U pic.twitter.com/N4bMUjni0q
The disappearance marks the third major incident in US aviation in eight days.
A commercial jetliner and a military helicopter collided near the nation's capital on January 29, killing 67 people.
On January 31, a medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-daily scheduled flights from Monday through to Saturday.
Planes are often the only option for travel of any distance in rural Alaska, particularly in winter.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement that ground crews were searching across the coast, from Nome to Topkok.
"Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time," it said.
Locals have been told not to form their own search parties because the weather is too dangerous.
A US Coast Guard airplane crew is expected to search the missing aircraft's last known position.
Meanwhile, the National Guard and troopers are also helping with the search.
It was -8.3C in Unalakleet around take-off, according to the National Weather Service. There was light snow falling and fog.
The names of the people onboard have not yet been released.
Nome, a Gold Rush town, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
