Photo: Sandi Smolker / iStock Editorial / Getty Images
A search is underway for a Bering Air flight that vanished over Alaska's Norton Sound on Thursday (February 6). The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, carrying nine passengers and a pilot, was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome when it disappeared. The aircraft was last seen about 12 miles offshore, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said that the pilot notified Anchorage Air Traffic Control that he planned to enter a holding pattern while waiting for a runway at Nome Airport to open up.
The Alaska State Troopers were alerted at 4 p.m. local time about the missing plane. The Nome Volunteer Fire Department is conducting ground searches, but poor weather conditions have limited air search efforts. The U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force are assisting with the search, deploying aircraft equipped with specialized search and rescue equipment.
Weather conditions in the area have been challenging, with light snow, freezing drizzle, and wind gusts up to 35 mph. Visibility was reduced to half a mile at times, complicating search efforts. CNN aviation analyst Miles O’Brien noted that ice on the wings could degrade the aircraft's performance, potentially leading to a stall.
However, officials were hopeful as the weather forecast was improving throughout the day.
During a press conference on Friday afternoon, the Coast Guard said that an aircraft had located an item of interest and that resources were being sent to the area to examine it.
The incident marks the third major aviation incident in the U.S. in eight days. Alaska's U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, expressed their thoughts and prayers for those involved.
The search continues, with updates expected as conditions allow.