A passenger plane has crashed in Alaska, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and all nine passengers on board. The aircraft, operated by the U.S. airline service Bering Air, was a small Cessna model.
According to reports from Alaska’s police, the crash occurred on February 6th at 2:37 PM local time, shortly after the plane departed from Unalakleet in western Alaska, heading towards the Norton Sound area, approximately 140 miles away. Within 45 minutes of takeoff, radar signals from the plane were lost.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Alaska branch spokesperson, Lieutenant Commander Benjamin McLaintyer-Coble, shared details at a briefing, revealing that the last radar signal from the aircraft was recorded at 3:18 PM. Authorities suspect a severe engine malfunction that may have caused the plane to lose both its altitude and ability to maintain flight speed.
The wreckage was discovered 34 miles southeast of Nome, Alaska, where three bodies were recovered. However, due to the condition of the wreckage, it is unlikely that the remaining seven victims’ bodies can be recovered, McLaintyer-Coble confirmed.
This crash follows a similar tragedy just days earlier. On January 29th, a commercial passenger plane collided mid-air with a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., resulting in the deaths of all 68 people on board.
Alaska’s Governor Mike Dunleavy expressed his condolences on Friday, stating, “My wife, Rose Dunleavy, and I are deeply saddened by the Bering Air flight crash. We are praying for the victims, the pilot, and their families during this heartbreaking time.”
