Alaska’s Juneau Ten passengers were on board a single-engine aircraft that was flying over ocean in Alaska just south of the Arctic Circle when it abruptly lost altitude and speed, according to authorities on Friday.
According to U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble, who did not elaborate, at least one of the searchers who had been combing over miles of frozen terrain and flying over cold seas had discovered something of interest on Friday afternoon.
According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the Bering Air Caravan, a single-engine turboprop, was carrying nine passengers and a pilot when it vanished Thursday afternoon over Norton Sound in Alaska. The plane was traveling approximately 150 miles from the settlement of Unalakleet to Nome.
According to McIntyre-Coble, radar forensic data from Civil Air Control showed that the missing plane had some sort of incident at 3:18 p.m. on Thursday that resulted in a sudden drop in altitude and speed.
Before holding an online press conference, he claimed, authorities had just learned about the discovered object.
What that is, what it could turn out to be, and what the people’s standing is… McIntyre-Coble stated, “I am unable to speculate at this time.”
The Coast Guard continued to view the hunt for the jet as a search and rescue mission, according to McIntyre-Coble. He said that he had not heard any distress signals from the plane.
According to authorities, the flight was a routine commuter journey, and all ten passengers were adults.
The plane’s disappearance is the third significant aviation accident in eight days in the United States. On January 29, an Army helicopter and a commercial airplane collided close to the country’s capital, killing 67 people. Six passengers on board and one person on the ground were killed when a medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31.
On Thursday, the Cessna Caravan departed Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. The National Weather Service reported a temperature of 17 degrees with mild fog and snow.
David Olson, Bering Air’s director of operations, said officials lost communication with the aircraft less than an hour later. According to transponder data, the aircraft’s last known position was approximately 30 miles southeast of Nome, the U.S. Coast Guard stated on Friday. As per the airline’s description, the aircraft was carrying as many passengers as possible.
With hubs in Nome, Kotzebue, and Unalakleet, Bering Air provides service to 32 settlements in western Alaska. Monday through Saturday, flights are scheduled twice day to most locations. Flightradar24, a flight tracking agency, said that two Bering Air aircraft seemed to be searching in a grid pattern near off the coast Friday morning.
About 690 people live in the western Alaskan town of Unalakleet, which is located 395 miles northwest of Anchorage and 150 miles southeast of Nome. The settlement is situated along the Iditarod Trail, which is the path taken by mushers and their teams as they traverse the icy Norton Sound during the most renowned sled dog race in the world.
Known as the terminus of the 1,000-mile Iditarod, Nome is a Gold Rush town located just south of the Arctic Circle.
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska made remarks regarding the missing plane on X, expressing their condolences to the Nome community, rescuers, passengers, and their families. U.S. Representative Nick Begich wrote on X that he was prepared to help Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and the people of Nome in any manner that he could.
–The Associated Press/Gene Johnson and Becky Bohrer
___
From Seattle, Johnson reported. This report was submitted by Martha Bellisle from Seattle.
The Associated Press
