Bering Air plane vanishes in Alaska while carrying 10 people

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A desperate search is underway Friday in Alaska for a plane carrying 10 people that vanished Thursday afternoon.

The flight, operated by Bering Air, was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome in Western Alaska when its position was lost about 12 miles offshore, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Data from FlightRadar shows the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX last reporting info at 3:16 p.m. over the Norton Sound.

The Coast Guard said a HC-130 Hercules airplane was dispatched from Air Station Kodiak to search “their last known position,” but as of Friday morning, the plane has yet to be found.

“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,” said the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, which is also conducting a ground search along the coastline.

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The city of Nome, Alaska, awaits the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race musher in March 2023.  (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News)

Bering Air describes itself as a regional air service based out of Nome, with hubs in Kotzebue and Unalakleet. 

“We operate scheduled passenger and cargo flights seven days a week out of each hub to 32 communities along the northwest coast of Alaska,” it said on its website.

The missing aircraft was carrying nine passengers and one pilot, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. 

The Bering Sea is seen of the coast of Nome in December 2018.  (Reuters/Yereth Rosen)

“Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going,” David Olson, its director of operations, told the Associated Press.

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said early Friday that “We do not have any updated information on the location of the missing aircraft” and that “Crews are still searching on the ground, canvassing as much area as possible.”

“National Guard and Coast Guard and Troopers have been notified and are active in the search,” it added Thursday, saying that “[Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson] is also sending flight support through the Air Force.”

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There is an active ground search from Nome and from White Mountain for a missing plane with 10 people onboard. (Google Maps)

“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,” the fire department said.

Norton Sound Health Corporation said it is “ready to respond to a community medical emergency,” but did not give any other details.

The temperature was 17 degrees in Unalakleet with light snow and fog during takeoff, the Associated Press reported, citing the National Weather Service.

“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, R-Ak., wrote on Facebook.

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The missing plane comes after back-to-back fatal aviation incidents in the U.S. last week, including the collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and a Learjet 55 medevac jet that crashed in Philadelphia.