Small commercial flight with 10 aboard goes missing in Alaska
The flight was last expected to arrive at its destination around 4:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time (0100 GMT), but never made it.
KATHMANDU: A small commercial aircraft carrying 10 people has been reported missing in the northwestern U.S. state of Alaska, authorities confirmed on Thursday.
According to the Alaska State Police, a Bering Air Cessna Caravan with nine passengers and one pilot on board was reported overdue while en route from Unalakleet to Nome.
The flight was last expected to arrive at its destination around 4:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time (0100 GMT), but never made it.
Unalakleet and Nome are separated by approximately 146 miles (235 kilometers) across the frigid waters of Norton Sound, an area known for harsh weather conditions that can make flying particularly challenging.
Search and rescue teams have been deployed and are actively working to reach the aircraft’s last known coordinates in an effort to locate the missing plane, authorities stated.
Officials have not yet confirmed whether poor weather or mechanical failure contributed to the aircraft’s disappearance.
This incident marks the latest in a troubling series of recent aviation accidents in the United States.
Just last week, on Jan 30, a tragic mid-air collision between a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., resulted in the deaths of all 67 people on board.
That disaster was followed by another fatal crash when a medical evacuation plane plunged into a densely populated neighborhood in Philadelphia, leaving seven dead and 19 others injured.
