Plane with Ten on Board Disappears Over Alaska

Search is underway in rough Arctic weather after a regional airline plane with 10 people aboard disappeared in Alaska. Authorities are looking for a Cessna aircraft operated by Bering Air, which was en route to Nome from Unalakleet, cities in western Alaska.

The state police were notified at 4 p.m. Thursday of an overdue aircraft that had gone missing with nine passengers and a captain.

Nome Volunteer Fire Department has already conducted ground searches around the possible crash area which is between Nome and White Mountain. Air searches have been by poor weather conditions which hinder visibility.

The United States Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard have joined the search for the missing plane. Authorities have also advised the public against organizing independent search efforts due to safety and weather concerns.

The plane missing in Alaska was last seen over the Norton Sound around 3:16 p.m.

This search for the airplane comes after two recent deadly accidents. The January 29 collision between a US Black Hawk helicopter and a Passenger Jet in Washington, D.C. left 67 people dead, and a crash of a medevac jet in Philadelphia that killed seven is still being investigated.

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department reported that the pilot told air traffic control he was going to enter a holding pattern while waiting for a runway to be cleared.

A caravan aircraft on a commercial flight en route to Nome, Alaska has gone missing with 9 passengers and 1 pilot onboard. pic.twitter.com/sYT38aGQRF

— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 7, 2025

The FBI has become involved in the search, providing technical resources for geolocating the missing passengers’ cell phones. The bureau has also dispatched personnel specially trained in analyzing cellular telephone tower data, which can assist authorities in locating registered devices.

A Coast Guard HC-130 flew near the plane’s last known location on Thursday

The National Guard and the Air Force also dispatched an HC-130 aircraft to search the area but did not report seeing the missing aircraft.

The director of operations for Bering Air told the Associated Press, “Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, provide emergency assistance, and get search and rescue underway.”

A Bering Air plane went missing in Alaska.

10 people were said to be on board.

The flight was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome.

Hopefully they find everyone alive. pic.twitter.com/5dIL0gaUgP

— Art Candee (@ArtCandee) February 7, 2025

Hospitals in the area have already prepared to respond to and shelter survivors. The Norton Sound Health Corporation said it is “standing ready to respond to a community medical emergency.”

US Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska posted on X, “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.”