Searchers in Alaska scour frozen tundra and icy seas for missing plane with 10 aboard

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Searchers flew over stretches of ice-covered seas and scoured miles of frozen tundra Friday for any sign of a plane that went missing while carrying 10 people in western Alaska just south of the Arctic Circle. FBI agents were using cellphone tracking data to help locate the aircraft.

The Bering Air Caravan, a single-engine turboprop, was heading from the village of Unalakleet to Nome — a distance of about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) — with nine passengers and a pilot on board when it disappeared Thursday afternoon over Alaska’s Norton Sound, according to Alaska's Department of Public Safety.

The Alaska Air National Guard searched with an HC-130 plane Thursday night, but a helicopter had to turn back because of bad weather before even reaching the search area. The region is prone to sudden snow squalls and high winds in the winter, and residents were told not to form their own search parties because the weather was too dangerous. Airplanes are often the only option for travel of any distance in rural Alaska, particularly in winter.

The Guard was approved to fly the helicopter Friday morning, and the Coast Guard brought an additional C-130 to help, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement posted to social media. A ground crew on snowmobiles was headed along the coast and farther inland.

The plane's disappearance marks the third major U.S. aviation mishap in eight days. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation's capital on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground.

The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service.

Officials lost contact with the plane less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. The U.S. Coast Guard said the aircraft was 12 miles (19 kilometers) offshore when it disappeared. It was operating at its maximum passenger capacity, according to the airline’s description of the plane.

“Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going,” Olson said.

Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-daily scheduled flights Monday through Saturday. Two Bering Air planes appeared to be searching in zigzag patterns just off the coastline Friday morning, according to the flight tracking service Flightradar24.

Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. The village is on the Iditarod trail, route of the world's most famous sled dog race, during which mushers and their teams must cross the frozen Norton Sound.

Nome, a Gold Rush town, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile (1,610-kilometer) Iditarod.

Alaska's U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, issued statements about the missing plane on X, saying their thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, their families, rescuers and the Nome community. U.S. Rep. Nick Begich posted on X that he was ready to assist the community of Nome and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy “ in any way we can.”

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Johnson reported from Seattle. Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed to this report.