Rescue operations are underway Friday after a small plane with 10 people went missing over Alaska’s Norton Sound shoreline — an inlet of the Bering Sea.
The aircraft owned by Bering Air Caravan was en route from Unalakleet to Nome on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot onboard according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department began an active search for the flight just before midnight on Thursday.
“We are currently doing an active ground search from Nome and from White Mountain and have as much up to date information on the event as possible,” the department wrote in a statement. “Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time.”
“National Guard and Coast Guard and Troopers have been notified and are active in the search. Norton Sound Health Corporation is standing by,” the officials added.
They also urged the public not to form individual search parties due to weather and safety concerns.
However, the National Guard and U.S. Air Force both deployed search crews to help survey the area.
The incident of the missing plane follows two other aviation incidents last month: a deadly mid-air collision near Reagan National Airport which killed 67 people and a fatal plane crash in Philadelphia that claimed the lives of seven individuals.
Following the crashes, President Trump has vowed an overhaul of the Federal Aviation Administration, including naming a new acting leader, and updates to the nation’s air traffic control system.
