A flight carrying nine passengers and one pilot went missing shortly after it took off from a remote community in Alaska. Bad weather has hampered initial search efforts.
Authorities are searching for a passenger plane that went missing over Alaska on Thursday, the state’s Department of Public Safety said.
The plane, which was carrying nine passengers and a pilot, was flying from the remote community of Unalakleet to Nome when it was reported missing at around 4 p.m. local time (0130 UTC).
The airline, Bering Air, said officials lost contact with the the Cessna Caravan less than an hour after it took off from Unalakleet.
“Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going,” said Bering Air’s director of operations David Olson.
Rescue crews battle poor conditions
Alaska’s Department of Public Safety said rescue crews were “working to get to the last known coordinates” of the missing flight.
Meanwhile, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department said it was conducting a ground search around Nome and White Mountain.
“Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time,” it said.
Residents have been warned against forming their own search parties because the weather is too dangerous.
The missing flight is the latest in a string of serious aviation incidents in the United States this year, including a passenger jet that collided with a helicopter over Washington and a medevac flight that crashed in Philadelphia.
