A Cessna Caravan aircraft carrying the pilot and nine passengers from Unalakleet to Nome (Alaska) has vanished. Searchers are currently braving the Alaska winter searching for the missing aircraft, but as of this writing, there is no trace of the plane or its passengers.
The 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. The flight path to Nome takes planes over Norton Sound, which was partly but not entirely ice-covered this week.
The aircraft was 12 miles offshore, the U.S. Coast Guard said. It was operating at its maximum passenger capacity, according to the airline’s description of the plane.
“Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going,” Olson said.
The roughly one-hour air…
