Search Underway for Missing Plane with 10 Aboard in Alaska

Rescue teams in Alaska are searching for a small commercial plane that went missing with 10 people on board, authorities confirmed on Friday. The Bering Air Caravan, carrying nine passengers and a pilot, was reported overdue after departing Unalakleet for Nome at 4:00 PM Alaska Standard Time (0100 GMT) on Thursday, according to Alaska State Police. The two cities, separated by approximately 146 miles (235 kilometers) across Norton Sound, are located on the state’s west coast. According to a Facebook post by Nome’s volunteer fire department, the pilot informed Anchorage air traffic control that he planned to hold in a holding pattern while waiting for the runway to be cleared, but communication was lost shortly after. The US Coast Guard has deployed a C-130 aircraft to assist ground crews in the ongoing search and rescue operation. “As of Friday, there is no updated information on the aircraft’s location. Search teams are actively canvassing as much area as possible,” the department said. Data from FlightRadar24 indicates that the last recorded position of the aircraft was over water, about 40 minutes after takeoff. This incident adds to a series of recent aviation disasters in the United States. On January 30, a mid-air collision between a passenger jet and a US Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., resulted in 67 fatalities. Shortly afterward, a medical aircraft crashed in a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven people and injuring 19 others.