The U.S. Coast Guard and other rescue crews are currently searching for a Cessna airplane that vanished in Alaska on Thursday with 10 people on board. As of Friday morning, officials had not located the missing plane.
Fox News reported that the missing aircraft is a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX operated by Bering Air. According to FlightRadar’s website, the latest information from the missing aircraft showed the airplane over Alaska’s Norton Sound inlet at 3:16 p.m. on Thursday.
Early Friday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska released a statement, saying, “U.S. Coast Guard District 17 responded to an aircraft emergency notification from Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at 4:30 p.m. today for a Cessna Caravan that reported to have 10 people aboard.”
“An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Kodiak to search their last known position,” the Coast Guard added. “The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost.”
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The Nome Volunteer Fire Department confirmed Thursday on Facebook that rescue crews were conducting an “active ground search” for the missing plane. While the Nome Volunteer Fire Department initially explained that rescue crews were “limited on-air search” as a result of poor weather and visibility conditions, officials later announced that the Coast Guard’s HC-130 Hercules airplane would be assisting the search.
“The plane will not land, but will fly a grid pattern over the water and shoreline in attempts to locate the plane,” the Nome Volunteer Fire Department stated. “The plane is equipped with specialized equipment for search and rescue that enables them to locate objects and people through no visibility conditions.”
According to The Associated Press, the Alaska Department of Public Safety confirmed that the missing Cessna airplane was carrying nine passengers and one pilot when it disappeared on Thursday. David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air, told The Associated Press, “Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going.”
Early Friday morning, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department released an update regarding the search and rescue operation, saying, “We do not have any updated information on the location of the missing aircraft. Crews are still searching on the ground, canvassing as much area as possible.”
