A search is underway in Alaska after the plane with 10 people on board when scheduled did not arrive at Gnome, officials said.
Law enforcement officials reported that the Bering Air Caravan flight from Arlanklate to Norme had been postponed to Alaska troopers at 4pm local time.
Nine passengers and pilots were on board, officials said.
The Coast Guard has been notified and there will also be active ground searches, the Norm Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement on social media. The weather conditions restricted air operations on Thursday afternoon, he said.
The C-130 Coast Guard plane with low visibility and devices that can detect objects will fly grid patterns over the area, and the fire station will also be updating around 8pm, with Elmendorf Air Base in Anchorage. Support is being sent. The fire department said.
“The ground crew covers the ground along the coast from Gnome to Topkoku,” the fire department said. The exact location of the plane is still unknown, and “we continue to expand our search efforts to as many streets as possible until the plane is located.”
Bering Air Operations Director David Olson said the flight took off from Unalakleet at 2:37pm, the NBC Affiliate ktuu of Anchorage reported.
The Alaska Coast Guard said at X that when the plane loses its position, the plane will go to the Gnome 12 miles offshore.
White Mountain Fire Chief Jack Adams told Ktuu that the plane disappeared from the radar along the coast of Gnome to Top Rich, with crew members searching for a 30-mile stretch.
“We hope that (the plane) is on land and being in the water will be the worst case scenario,” Adams told the station, noting that there is sea ice in the water.
Unalakleet is a small coastal community on the west coast of Alaska off Norton Sound, with Gnomes about 141 miles to the northwest.
