ALASKA: The US Coast Guard in Alaska found the wreckage of a small plane atop frozen sea ice on Friday, after the aircraft suddenly lost altitude on Thursday and the crash killed all 10 people on board, officials said.
Two US Coast Guard rescue swimmers who reached the wreckage could see three bodies inside, and the other seven were presumed to be inside the wreckage, Coast Guard spokesperson Mike Salerno told a press conference. “Unfortunately, it does not appear to be a survivable crash,” Salerno said.
Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska office, told the same press conference that 10 were dead. “Unfortunately now since the wreckage has been found and 10 fatalities, it’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and go to work,” Johnson said.
Harsh winter weather had impeded search efforts, and it may take hours or days to recover the bodies from the remote site, officials said. The wreckage was discovered 34 miles (55 km) southeast of Nome, the Coast Guard said in a post that included a picture of the wreckage in the snow and the two members of the recovery team.
The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft carrying a pilot and nine adult passengers was reported missing en route from Unalakleet about 4pm local time on Thursday, according to a dispatch posted on the website of the Alaska State Troopers in Nome, which is more than 805 km northwest of Anchorage. The plane went missing about 19 km offshore over the icy waters of the Norton Sound, which is part of the Bering Sea, according to the Coast Guard.
Benjamin McIntyre-Coble, an officer with the Coast Guard in Alaska, has said the plane suffered a rapid loss of altitude and speed, according to radar data, but could offer no details on what may have caused that. Weather was wintry and poor in the area where the plane suddenly dropped, officials said. The plane was operated by Bering Air and was making a 150-mile trip from Unalakleet to Nome, a regularly scheduled commuter flight that traverses the Norton Sound.
Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2025
