A Bering Air plane with 10 people on board reportedly went missing near Alaska’s Nome late Thursday afternoon. The plane went off the radar while en route from Unalakleet to Nome, Alaska’s Department of Public Safety said on Thursday.
The small turboprop Cessna Caravan plane was carrying nine passengers and one pilot. Search operations are being carried out by crews to get the last-known coordinates of the plane, news agency Reuters reported, citing Department of Public Safety’s webiste.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said that it was actively conducting ground searches from Nome and White Mountain as poor weather and visibility affected the air searches, CNN reported.
The department also said that the US Coast Guard and US Air Force have stepped in to help in finding the missing plane. “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.
Bering Air is an Alaska-based regional airline that operates nearly 39 planes and helicopters, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 says.
The last position of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was received by FlightRadar24 trackers while it was flying over water, 38 minutes after departing Unalakleet at 1438 local time on Thursday (2338 GMT). The flight between Unalakleet to Nome usually takes under an hour.
The flight tracker on Thursday evening also showed a Coast Guard HC-130 flying near the last known location of the plane. The fire department saying it carried “specialized equipment for search and rescue that enables them to locate objects and people through no visibility conditions,” CNN reported.
The U.S. government’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health said a disproportionate number of air taxi and plane accidents occur in Alaska as compared to other states.
The weather in Alaska was not supporting the searches as there was light snow and freezing drizzle around the Nome Airport. The visibility was reduced to only half a mile at one point, with a forecast of gusty winds.
The local hospitals are preparing for all possible responses. A statement by the Norton Sound Health Corporation said that it was ready to respond to a “community medical emergency”. The hospital has also set up a family centre for the families and friends of the passenger to gather while they await the news of the plane, CNN reported.
“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,” Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska posted about the incident on Facebook.
