A plane that vanished over the icy waters of Alaska on Thursday has been found—but the discovery brings grim news.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Friday that the wreckage was located on sea ice, with no survivors among the nine passengers and pilot aboard.
“Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic incident,” the Coast Guard said.
What Happened?
Bering Air Flight 445, a single-engine turboprop, took off from Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., heading for Nome, about 150 miles away.
It lost radio contact 38 minutes later. Radar data suggests that at 3:18 p.m., the aircraft suffered a sudden loss of altitude and speed just minutes before landing.
Search teams—including the Coast Guard, National Guard, Air Force, and FBI—scoured the ice-covered sea and coastline.
Crews used cellphone tracking data to narrow the search before spotting wreckage offshore.
Coast Guard official Benjamin McIntyre-Coble mentioned that an “item of interest” had been located but declined to speculate further.
