Missing commuter plane found crashed on Alaska sea ice, all 10 aboard killed

U.S. Coast Guard locates crashed commuter plane in Alaska, all 10 passengers on board confirmed dead.

A small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on its way to the hub community of Nome was located Friday on sea ice, and all 10 people on board died, authorities said.

Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard, said rescuers were searching the aircraft's last known location by helicopter when they spotted the wreckage. They lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate.

The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot, according to Alaska’s Department of Public Safety.

The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. 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. The Coast Guard said it went missing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome. The aircraft was 12 miles (19 kilometers) offshore, according to the Coast Guard said.

It was operating at its maximum passenger capacity, according to the airline’s description of the plane.

Radar forensic data provided by the U.S. Civil Air Patrol indicated that about 3:18 p.m., the plane had “some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said. “What that event is, I can't speculate to.”