Investigators probe fatal Alaska plane crash as crews push to recover wreckage before inclement weather

A small commuter plane carrying nine passengers and one pilot went missing on Thursday afternoon after taking off from Unalakleet. The U.S. Coast Guard subsequently stated that the aircraft was found on Friday, approximately 54 kilometers southeast of its destination, Nome. All 10 people on board perished.

According to official descriptions, the wreckage is currently located on unstable sea ice, and heavy snow and strong winds are expected in the area this weekend. Officials stated that the recovery of the bodies will be prioritized, followed by the removal of the wreckage for further analysis.

Nome Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jim West stated at a Friday evening news conference that rescuers are "working on the ice," adding that the focus of the recovery operation is to clear the wreckage and "bring the deceased home," but the specific timing is unclear. West also mentioned that the conditions at the crash site are constantly changing and the weather is severe, so "we don't know how long this will take. It could be hours, it could be days. We have 18 hours of potential rescue time tomorrow."

The U.S. National Weather Service announced a winter weather advisory for Nome and other parts of western Alaska from now until 9 p.m., with blowing snow, sleet, and mixed precipitation expected. Some areas could see up to 5 inches of snowfall, with ice accumulation of around one-tenth of an inch and wind gusts up to 45 mph.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash, as well as the reason for the sudden drop in the plane's altitude and speed. Officials stated that analyzing air traffic control data will be key to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy stated at a Saturday news conference that the priority on Saturday was the search for the deceased before recovering the wreckage for inspection.

Homendy stated that the NTSB has deployed nine personnel to work on site, with a dozen more specialists providing support in Washington, D.C. She added, "Please understand that there are some difficult conditions because this occurred on ice floes that are moving about 5 miles a day." The Coast Guard stated that the Cessna aircraft, operated by Bering Air, lost its position about 19 kilometers from Nome.

Coast Guard Lieutenant Benjamin McIntyre-Coble stated that the aircraft "experienced some event that caused a rapid descent in altitude and speed" around 3:18 p.m. on Thursday. Officials stated that the search was complicated by several factors, including severe weather and the fact that the downed aircraft did not transmit location information via an emergency transmitter.

Visibility improved for searchers on Friday morning: the Nome airport was clear with temperatures around 5 degrees Fahrenheit around 10 a.m. The fire department stated that the National Guard and Coast Guard added helicopter search teams on Friday morning, and another Coast Guard C-130 aircraft landed in Nome to assist with the search.

At a vigil held in Nome on Friday, Pastor Amanda Snyder of the Our Savior Lutheran Church urged attendees to rely on each other for support. "Please don't isolate yourselves in grief. In the days to come, in the weeks to come, as we start to hear which families were affected, our hearts are going to break again and again, it's okay to grieve, but please don't isolate."

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski participated in the vigil via video conference, saying, "Words cannot express the loss that we all feel, we are connected in so many ways. It's hard to accept the reality of what we've lost." It is not uncommon for Alaskans to travel to and from various locations via small aircraft due to Alaska's vast geography and lack of transportation infrastructure.

Snyder told the city's local newspaper, the Nome Nugget, "It's just heartbreaking. Because everybody in this room has been on one of those planes. It hits home." Two employees of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Ron Baumgartner and Cameron Harthcock, were also among the victims; they were traveling to Unalakleet "to service a heat recovery system critical to the community's water plant," the non-profit organization said Friday night.

ANTHC Interim President and CEO Natasha Singh said in a statement: "Ron Baumgartner and Cameron Harthcock were passionate about the work they did, cared deeply about the communities they served, and made a lasting impact on our state's rural communities. They were the best at what they did, and they were just flying to Unalakleet to help with heating and mechanical issues in the dead of winter. They made the ultimate sacrifice for the people we serve and the work we do."

Homendy said she understands how tragic the crash is for the region. "The NTSB knows that villages like Nome and the Alaskan aviation community are tight-knit communities, so this tragedy impacts so many people," she said Saturday. "Please know that we will work to determine how this happened, with the ultimate goal of improving safety in Alaska and across the United States."