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A Bering Air aerial plane destined for Nome crashed into sea ice, killing at 10 on board.
This photo provided by the US Coast Guard. UU. On Friday, February 7, 2025, it shows a small vicinity plane that crashed in western Alaska on a flight destined for the Hub of Nome community. (Image: Photo Ap)
A small vicinity plane that crashed in western Alaska on its way to the community of Nome was located on Friday on sea ice, and the 10 people on board died, authorities said.
Mike Salerno, spokesman for the United States Coast Guard, said rescuers were looking in the last known place of the helicopter plane when they saw the remains. Two rescue swimmers went down to investigate.
The turbopropulsor plane of a single Bering Air engine traveled from Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot, according to the Alaska Public Security Department.
Cessna’s caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 pm, and officials lost contact with him less than an hour later, according to David Olson, Bering Air operations director. There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 Celsius), according to the National Meteorological Service.
The officials lost contact with the plane less than an hour later. The Coast Guard said it disappeared at about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome. The plane was 12 miles (19 kilometers) on the coast, according to the Coast Guard.
He was operating to his maximum passenger capacity, according to the description of the airline of the plane.
Radar forensic data provided by the US Civil Air Patrol “, The Lieutenant of the Coast Guard. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said.
McIntyre-Cobble said he was not aware of the plane’s anguish signs. Airplanes carry an emergency location transmitter. If exposed to seawater, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which then transmits that message to the Coast Guard to indicate that a plane can be in danger. There have not been such messages received by the Coast Guard, he said.
The 10 people aboard the plane were adults, and the flight was a regularly scheduled voyage trip, according to Lieutenant Ben Endres of the soldiers of the state of Alaska.
Local, state and federal agencies helped in the search effort, combing sections of dotted waters and scrubbing miles of frozen tundra.
The disappearance of the plane marks the third US aviation accident. In eight days. A commercial plane and an army helicopter collided near the capital of the nation on January 29, killing 67 people. A medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground.
Most Alaska communities are not connected to the state’s main road system, and airplanes are often the only option to travel at any distance in rural areas, particularly in winter. The region is prone to sudden snow tubes and strong winds in the winter.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from the centers in Nome, Kotzebue and Unlakleet. Most destinations receive scheduled flights twice a day from Monday to Saturday. Two Bering air airplanes seemed to be looking for a grid pattern right next to the coast on Friday morning, according to the Fumtradar24 flight tracking service24.
Unalakleet is a community of approximately 690 people about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. The town is on the Iditarod path, the most famous sled dog race route in the world, during which Mushers and their teams must cross the frozen sound of Norton.
Nome, a gold city, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the final point of 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers). The city said the prayer vigils would take place on Friday for those aboard the plane, friends and family and those involved in search efforts.
The American senators of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan issued statements that say that their thoughts and sentences went with passengers, their families, rescuers and the community of Nome. American representative Nick Begich said on the social platform X that he was ready to help Nome and the governor of Alaska Mike Dunleavy “in any way we can.”
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a FEED -Associated Press Union News Agency)
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