Rescue crews searched Friday for any sign of a Bering Air flight with 10 people on board that went missing above Alaska’s Norton Sound, south of the Arctic Circle.
The Bering Air Caravan, a single-engine turboprop, was heading from Unalakleet to Nome on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot, according to Alaska’s Department of Public Safety. Authorities were working to determine its last known coordinates.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department reported the plane missing in a Facebook post on Friday, writing, “We are currently responding to a report of a missing Bering Air caravan. There were ten people on board and aircraft was in route from Unalakleet to Nome. We are currently doing an active ground search from Nome and from White Mountain and have as much up to date information on the event as possible.”
It added that due to weather and visibility, they were limited on air search and the National Guard, coast guard and troopers have been notified and are in active search.
The team also asked the public not to form individual search parties for the missing plane due to bad weather and safety concerns.
The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. local time, and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, with the plane’s last reporting information at 3:16 p.m., according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. The aircraft was 12 miles (19 kilometres) offshore, the U.S. Coast Guard said. It was operating at its maximum passenger capacity, according to the airline’s description of the plane.
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“Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going,” Olson said.
The plane is believed to have vanished from radar somewhere along the coast from Nome to Topkok, White Mountain fire Chief Jack Adams told Alaska’s News Source.
Adams said they have crews actively searching a roughly 30-mile (48-kilometre) stretch in that area.
“They’re prepared to be out all night, they will search here until they find them or somebody else finds them,” Adams said. “If they don’t find anything, we’ll probably rally another crew to go and help.”
Adams added that the sea ice is “kind of jumbled” so the ground crews are travelling on the Iditarod trail to continue their search.
“We’re hoping [the plane] is on land. Being in the water would be the worst-case scenario,” he said.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in its latest update early Friday that “crews are still searching on the ground, canvassing as much area as possible,” but they “do not have any updated information on the location of the missing aircraft.”
“The National Guard C-130 reported they found nothing so far. The Airforce also sent a C-130 [to] resume the search and also have reported no visuals, and have one hour of flight search time remaining,” the crew added.
Adams noted that all aircraft are grounded due to “zero visibility.”
“Basically, you can’t see anything from the air or the ground, and in the dark looking for something in zero visibility is a tough job,” Adams added.
Local hospitals are on standby and the Norton Sound Health Corporation released a statement on social media saying it is also “standing ready to respond to a community medical emergency.”
“A family center is accepting family members and loved ones in the Norton Sound Regional Hospital’s third floor conference room,” it added.
It was 17 F (-8.3 C) in Unalakleet around takeoff, according to the National Weather Service. There was fog and light snowfall.
The names of the people on board haven’t been released and emergency services are continuing their search for the aircraft and will continue to update the public as news develops around the search.
Global News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada to inquire if there were any Canadians aboard the missing plane, but has not yet received a response.
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.
Airplanes are often the only option for travel of any distance in rural Alaska, particularly in winter.
—With files from The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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