JUNEAU (Alaska, US), Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Cessna plane with 10 people on board has gone missing during a flight in Alaska, according to local and state officials.
The plane, operated by Bering Air, was en route from Unalakleet to Nome, both cities in western Alaska separated by the Norton Sound inlet, according to the Alaska State Troopers.
The state police agency was notified at 4 p.m. Thursday of “an overdue aircraft” that had gone missing with nine passengers and a pilot on board, it said in a dispatch message shared on its website.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said on Facebook it was conducting active ground searches from Nome and White Mountain, but was limited on air searches due to poor weather and visibility. The US Coast Guard and US Air Force have stepped in to help, with flights planned to scope out the area and try to locate the missing aircraft, the department said.
“The plane’s exact location is still unknown. We continue to expand search efforts to as many avenues as possible until the plane is located,” the fire department wrote. It urged the public not to form their own search parties due to the weather and safety concerns.
“Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going,” said David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air.
As of Thursday evening, there was light snow and freezing drizzle around Nome Airport; at one point, visibility was down to only half a mile, with forecasts of wind gusts up to 35 mph overnight.
According to data from flight tracker FlightRadar 24, the plane, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, was last seen over the Norton Sound at around 3:16 p.m.
The plane was about 12 miles offshore when its position was lost, according to the Coast Guard.
Local hospitals are gearing up for any possible response needed, with the Norton Sound Health Corporation saying in a statement it was “standing ready to respond to a community medical emergency.” The Norton Sound Regional Hospital also set up a family center for loved ones of the passengers to gather while waiting for news.
The flight tracker also showed a Coast Guard HC-130 flying near the plane’s last known location on Thursday evening, with the fire department saying it carried “specialized equipment for search and rescue that enables them to locate objects and people through no visibility conditions.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska posted about the incident on Facebook, writing: “We are hearing reports of a possible missing plane en route to Nome. Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, their families and the rescue crew.”
The search for the plane comes as US air safety investigators continue to probe two deadly incidents in recent weeks, including a midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington, DC, that left 67 people dead, and the crash of a medevac jet in Philadelphia that killed 7. — NNN-AGENCIES