Passenger plane carrying 10 goes missing mid-air in Alaska
A search is under way for a small passenger plane that disappeared mid-air during dangerous winter weather in rural Alaska on Thursday.
The Bering Air Caravan, carrying 10 people, was reported missing at about 4pm local time (1am GMT), while travelling from Unalakleet to Nome with nine passengers and a pilot, according to Alaska’s Department of Public Safety.
Authorities are working to determine its last known coordinates.
Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, about 150 miles (about 240km) south-east of Nome and 395 miles (about 640km) north-west of Anchorage.
The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2.37pm (11.37pm GMT), and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, the director of operations for Bering Air.
The aircraft was 12 miles (about 19 kilometres) offshore, according to the US Coast Guard.
Mr Olson said: “Staff at Bering Air [are] working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going.”
A US Coast Guard airplane crew was expected to search the missing aircraft’s last known position. The National Guard and troopers were also helping with the search, according to the fire department.
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.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement on social media that it was conducting a ground search from Nome and White Mountain.
It said: “Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time.”
It was -8.3C (17F) in Unalakleet around take-off, according to the National Weather Service. There was light snow falling and fog.
People have been told not to form their own search parties because the weather is too dangerous.
A Federal Aviation Administration weather camera near Nome appeared to show near-whiteout conditions over several hours on Thursday afternoon, according to Alaska’s News Source.
The names of the people onboard have not yet been released.
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