A photo of Nome Volunteer Fire Department in Alaska. Photo:
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A plane with 10 people on board has gone missing in Alaska, authorities have confirmed.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, the Bering Air Caravan flight, heading from Unalakleet to Nome, was reported overdue at around 4 p.m. local time, per a statement from the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS).
The statement confirmed there were nine passengers and one pilot on board. The plane had departed Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., Bering Air Director of Operations, David Olson, said, per local outlet KTUU.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department added in an initial post on Facebook, “We are currently responding to a report of a missing Bering Air caravan.”
“We are currently doing an active ground search from Nome and from White Mountain and have as much up to date information on the event as possible,” they added.
“Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time. National Guard and Coast Guard and Troopers have been notified and are active in the search. Norton Sound Health Corporation is standing by,” the department said.
“We ask the public to please think of those who may be missing at this time, but due to weather and safety concerns please do not form individual search parties. Families are encouraged to seek support at Norton Sound Health Corporation,” the post added.
The department also said that “the pilot of the plane” had “told Anchorage Air Traffic Control that he intended to enter a holding pattern while waiting for the runway to be clear,” stating that a C-130 Coast Guard plane was “planning to scope the area.”
In another update, the fire department posted, “The C-130 has arrived in the Nome Area. The plane will not land, but will fly a grid pattern over the water and shoreline in attempts to locate the plane. The plane is equipped with specialized equipment for search and rescue that enables them to locate objects and people through no visibility conditions.”
I”The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost,” the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska maritime region posted on X.
A photo of Nome Airport in Alaska.
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Live flight tracker Flightradar24’s X account added that the plane’s last position had been received at 5,300 feet at around 3:16 p.m. The website stated the average flight time was 47 minutes.
The White Mountain fire chief, Jack Adams, told KTUU’s Alaska’s News Source that the aircraft “disappeared from the radar somewhere along the coast of Nome to Topkok,” adding that authorities had been searching the approximately “30-mile stretch.”
“They’re prepared to be out all night, they will search here until they find them or somebody else finds them,” the chief added, per the outlet. “If they don’t find anything, we’ll probably rally another crew to go and help.”
Adams pointed out that the sea ice was “kind of jumbled,” telling the outlet, “We’re hoping [the plane] is on land, being in the water would be the worst-case scenario.”
“Word is, all the aircraft are grounded, there’s zero visibility. Basically, you can’t see anything from the air or the ground, and in the dark looking for something in zero visibility is a tough job,” Adams continued, per the publication.
PEOPLE has reached out to Bering Air and the Alaska Department of Public Safety for additional updates but didn’t immediately hear back.
