By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JUNEAU, ALASKA (Worthy News) – Residents in western Alaska plunged into mourning on Saturday after one of the deadliest air crashes in the U.S. state in the last 25 years killed all 10 people on board.
Authorities said remnants of the small plane were located Friday on sea ice where it came down on its way to the hub community of Nome.
Rescuers had been searching the aircraft’s last known location by helicopter “when the wreckage was spotted,” said Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Two rescue swimmers were reportedly lowered to investigate. The Bering Air flight was traveling in western Alaska, just south of the Arctic Circle, from Unalakleet to Nome, officials explained.
Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.
After it disappeared from radar, officials said several groups began searching for the plane, including Alaska State Troopers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Air National Guard, the Alaska Army National Guard, and local search teams.
DIFFICULT SEARCH
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provided technical assistance, including cellphone analysis, to help locate the aircraft.
Finding the aircraft in rugged and icy terrain had not been easy. Alaska State Troopers said they were notified about the missing plane on Thursday at 4 p.m. local time.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed on social media platform X the flight’s last known position was almost 12 miles (19 kilometers) offshore.
Early Friday, the Nome fire department announced it was conducting a ground search, but weather and poor visibility conditions were hampering its air search.
The department urged people not to form their own search parties because “of hazardous weather conditions” in the region, which is prone to sudden snow squalls and high winds.
Airplanes are often the only method of transportation between rural Alaskan villages, but what caused the crash was not immediately clear.
DOG RACE
Nome is well-known as the last stop in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March.
This is the third major U.S. aviation incident in recent days. On January 29, a commercial airliner and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport outside Washington.
Two days later, a medical transport plane crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff, killing six people onboard and another person on the street.
Following the January 29 crash, U.S. President Donald J. Trump ordered a review of whether air traffic controllers (ATC) gave pilots solid advice.
He suggested that ATC staff may have been hired not based on merit but under the “inclusive woke” policies of the previous Biden administration.
The union representing air traffic controllers rejected Trump’s claims. “Air traffic controllers earn the prestigious and elite status of being a fully certified professional controller after successfully completing a series of rigorous training milestones,” argued Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “The standards to achieve certification are not based on race or gender.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A 74-year-old grandmother arrested under Scotland’s newly enacted abortion “buffer zone” law is pushing back against proposed expansions, warning the legislation is being used to “crack down harshly and unfairly” on peaceful pro-life voices.
The Republican multitrillion-dollar budget reconciliation package may undergo significant edits before reaching the House floor after party leaders conceded to holdouts’ demands.
ran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched a blistering attack against U.S. President Donald Trump during a televised address in Tehran, denouncing the American leader as a liar and warmonger, while supporters chanted “death to America,” “death to England,” and “death to Israel.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he is not frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite recent speculation of tensions between the two leaders. His remarks came in a Fox News interview following a high-profile diplomatic tour of Gulf nations—a trip that notably excluded Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday via a Truth Social post that he held a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he claims will lead to immediate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine toward a ceasefire and an end to the war.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Monday that it is expanding operations across the Gaza Strip under its renewed offensive “Gideon’s Chariots,” including intensified airstrikes and targeted operations in Khan Younis and beyond. A spokesperson stated, “The IDF is in the midst of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ and is operating throughout the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday defended Israel’s decision to allow limited humanitarian aid into Gaza, stating that international pressure had reached a “red line.” In a video statement, Netanyahu said, “We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We will not be able to support you.”