Authorities in Alaska have located the wreckage of an Alaska plane that went missing Thursday afternoon with 10 people on board.
The search and rescue operation switched to a recovery mission early Friday after crews located the aircraft’s wreckage on sea ice about 34 miles southeast of Nome.
Three occupants were found dead inside the crashed plane, the Coast Guard confirmed. The seven others are also believed to be deceased inside but “are currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane.”
“Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident,” the Coast Guard added.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Bering Air Flight 445 vanished after taking off from Unalakleet Airport at around 3:20 p.m.
“The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost,” local officials said.
It was reported overdue at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Coast Guard Officer Ben McIntyre-Coble said that data from radar analysis showed that at 3:18 p.m., the doomed aircraft “experienced some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and rapid loss of speed.
“What that event is, I can’t speculate to,” he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
