Recovery teams press on with efforts to retrieve bodies from a plane crash in Alaska that killed all 10 people aboard. The Cessna Grand Caravan, operated by Bering Air, lost radar contact Thursday during its flight from Unalakleet to Nome.
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said nine investigators have arrived at the scene, supported by specialists in Washington, D.C. The investigation remains in the early stages, with no clear cause determined. The wreckage rests on an ice floe moving five miles per day amid worsening weather conditions.
The aircraft, which carried nine passengers and one pilot, went down in Norton Sound, 34 miles southeast of Nome. Among the victims were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson, employees of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium who had performed maintenance work at a water plant in Unalakleet.
Air traffic records show the pilot reported plans to enter a holding pattern awaiting runway clearance. The US Coast Guard noted the plane experienced rapid losses in altitude and speed before communications ceased. Weather reports indicated poor visibility around the time of the crash.
Bering Air pledged full cooperation with investigators and expressed condolences to affected families. Alaska's political leaders shared messages of support, with Senator Lisa Murkowski noting the close-knit nature of Alaskan communities. Governor Mike Dunleavy expressed heartbreak over the tragedy.
The flight connected two communities across Norton Sound, an inlet of the Bering Sea on Alaska's western coast. Nome, the destination city with 3,500 residents, sits approximately 150 miles from Unalakleet.
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said nine investigators have arrived at the scene, supported by specialists in Washington, D.C. The investigation remains in the early stages, with no clear cause determined. The wreckage rests on an ice floe moving five miles per day amid worsening weather conditions.
The aircraft, which carried nine passengers and one pilot, went down in Norton Sound, 34 miles southeast of Nome. Among the victims were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson, employees of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium who had performed maintenance work at a water plant in Unalakleet.
Air traffic records show the pilot reported plans to enter a holding pattern awaiting runway clearance. The US Coast Guard noted the plane experienced rapid losses in altitude and speed before communications ceased. Weather reports indicated poor visibility around the time of the crash.
Bering Air pledged full cooperation with investigators and expressed condolences to affected families. Alaska's political leaders shared messages of support, with Senator Lisa Murkowski noting the close-knit nature of Alaskan communities. Governor Mike Dunleavy expressed heartbreak over the tragedy.
The flight connected two communities across Norton Sound, an inlet of the Bering Sea on Alaska's western coast. Nome, the destination city with 3,500 residents, sits approximately 150 miles from Unalakleet.
