Aircraft missing in Alaska: What to know today

On By Littum

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The search continues Friday after a small plane that disappeared in Alaska with 10 people on board.

Bering Air Flight traveled from the village of Unalakleet to Nome when it was reported missing at around 1 p.m. 16 local time Thursday, according to Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troopers.

Nine passengers and a pilot were reportedly on board.

Here’s what we know about the incident.

Lack of Alaska airplane location

As per the Live Fly Transition Web site Flightradar24The aircraft’s last known position was over the water, 38 minutes after leaving Unalakleet, which is typically less than an hour of flight from Nome.

The US Coast Guard Alaska Said on X, formerly Twitter, the plane was 12 miles offshore when its location was lost.

“The pilot on the plane told Anchorage Air Traffic Control that he intended to get into a team pattern while waiting for the runway to be cleared,” Nome Volunteer Four Department Sent on his Facebook page Thursday night.

Alaska Flight Search

Several agencies are involved in search and rescue efforts from soil and air.

“The National Guard C-130 reported that they found nothing found so far. The air defense also sent a C-130 resumed the search and has also reported no visuals, ”posted the fire department, adding that the C-130 was equipped with special equipment that could find people and objects, even without visibility.

Bering Air

Bering Air is a family -owned airline headquartered in Nome. Its site says it has been in operation since 1979 and offers scheduled regional service, charter flights and cargo transport. It includes planned service for both Nome and Unalakleet, which is about 150 miles apart in western Alaska, by Bering Sea.

As with several Alaska villages and cities, there are no roads that connect the two. Over 80% of Alaska’s villages are dependent on air taxi and commuter operators as their main link, according to National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Nome, Alaska

Nome is famous for being a gold rush and the end of Iditarod sled dog race.

The city roughly 3,700 people is only available by dog ​​sled, snowmobile, water and aircraft, according to the Nome Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Unalakleet, Alaska

Travel Alaska’s Website describes Unalakleet as the southernmost Iñupiaq village in Alaska. It has a population of about 800 people.

The village is only available in the aircraft, according to Bureau of Land Management.

Lack of plan model

The missing aircraft was a Cessna 208b Grand Caravan Ex with tail number N321BA, according to Flightradar24.

Cessna’s site Says, “The Grand Caravan® Ex Turboprop was designed for challenging missions, high payloads and short, rough runways while delivering En -Motor’s economy and simplicity.”

Bering Air operates both aircraft and helicopters.

The Alaska plane goes down

It’s too early to say what happened to the lack of plan but Alaska has a disproportionate number of air taxi and commuter events compared to the rest of the US

Of the 1,874 such events across the country between 1990 and 2015, more than a third of those in Alaska were, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. “They also accounted for more than 20% of fatal events and deaths in the United States,” according to Niosh.

Contributing: Reuters