Anchorage, Alaska (AP) – The aircraft carrying 10 people in Norton Sound, Alaska, south of the Arctic Circle, went missing Thursday afternoon, with rescuers searching for signs of the aircraft at night.
According to the Alaska Public Safety Agency, the Bering Air Caravan was heading from the Arlanklate to the Gnome, along with nine passengers and pilots. Authorities were working on determining its last known coordinates.
Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, about 150 miles southeast of Nome and 395 miles northwest of Anchorage.
Norme, Alaska, awaits its first Iditarod Trail Thread Dog Ray Smasher on Tuesday, March 14th, 2023. Ryan Reddington won the race. (Lauren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News AP, File)
This disappearance marks the third major incident on US Airlines in eight days. On January 29, a commercial jet liner and an army helicopter collided near the country’s capital, killing 67 people. On January 31st, a medical transport crashed in Philadelphia, killing six people on board and another person on the ground.
According to David Olson, Beringair’s operations director, Cessna Caravan left Alan Leat at 2:37pm, and authorities lost contact with it even an hour later. According to the US Coast Guard, the aircraft was 12 miles offshore.
“Bering Air staff is gathering details, receiving emergency assistance and working hard to advance the search and rescue,” says Olson.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from the Hubs of Norme, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations will receive scheduled flights twice a day, Monday through Saturday.
Airplanes are often the only option for traveling distances in rural Alaska, especially in winter.
The Norm Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement on social media that the ground crew is searching across the coast, from Norm to Topcok.
“Weather and visibility limit air searches at this point,” he said. The weather was so dangerous that people were told not to form their own search parties.
In an early update on Friday, the department said “crews are still searching on the ground and canvas as many areas as possible,” but “updated information on the location of the missing aircraft.” There is none.”
The US Coast Guard plane crew were expected to search for the last known location of the missing aircraft. The National Guard and troopers also assisted in the search, according to the fire department.
According to the National Weather Service, it was 17 F (-8.3 C) at Unalakleet around takeoff. There was light snow and fog.
The names of the people on board had not been released yet.
Gnome, a Gold Rush Town, is located just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point for the 1,000-mile (1,610-kilometer) Iditarod Trail Thread Dog Race.
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