Alaska plane vanishes mid-air sparking desperate search: Live updates

The small plane was travelling to Nome from Unalakleet in western Alaska on Thursday night when it vanished off radars.

Exact coordinates for the aircraft are still being established, with the Coast Guard deployed to the area to specialized equipment that can ‘locate objects and people through no visibility conditions’, officials said.

Authorities said their last known contact with the pilot was when he told Anchorage Air Traffic Control that he intended to ‘enter a holding pattern’ as he waited for the runway to be cleared.

It is understood the aircraft was 12 miles off shore when contact was lost.

According to data from FlightRadar, the plane – a Cessna 208B – left Unalakleet at 2:40pm, and was last seen over the Norton Sound at 3.16pm.

Unalakleet and Nome are small coastal towns at the western end of Alaska, separated by the Norton Sound inlet.

The missing Bering aircraft carrying 10 people vanished off radars in an area known as the infamous ‘Alaska Triangle.’

Stretching from Utqiagvik to Anchorage to Juneau, staggering numbers of aircraft have gone down in the remote stretch, with some estimates putting the number of people lost since 1970 at over 20,000.

Residents in remote towns routinely take small aircraft instead of driving or public transport to move around the region, which is often hit with severe weather.

Across the state, from January 1998 to December 2017, Alaska saw a total of 2,257 aircraft crashes – an average of 112 per year.

Officials have not determined what happened to the Bering aircraft that disappeared off flight radars on Thursday night.

Authorities admitted on Friday morning they have ‘found nothing’ in their search for the missing aircraft over remote Alaska.

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said crews, including officers from the US Air Force and National Guard, have not yet found any sign of the aircraft that was carrying 10 people.

Crews are still ‘canvassing as much area as possible’, but the department said time is running out before they will have to temporarily pause the search efforts.

‘The National Guard C-130 reported they found nothing found so far. The Airforce also sent a C-130 resumed the search and also have reported no visuals, and have one hour of flight search time remaining,’ a statement read.

Residents in remote towns such as Nome and Unalakleet routinely choose to fly between destinations as roads and public transport are often hit with poor weather.

The conditions in Alaska mean the state has a higher than average number of aircraft accidents, and data from NTSB found there are more than one-per-week.

From January 1998 to December 2017, Alaska saw a total of 2,257 aircraft crashes – an average of 112 per year.

Officials have not determined what happened to the Bering aircraft that disappeared off flight radars on Thursday night.

Officials are still searching for 10 people who were aboard the missing Bering aircraft before it vanished.

Details of who was on the flight are yet to be revealed, with officials only noting it comprised of nine passengers and a solo pilot.

Flight data shows the small Cessna 208B aircraft took dozens of flights in the days before it vanished off radars on Thursday evening.

Data from FlightRadar registered at least 23 short flights in the three days before it disappeared flying from Unalakleet to Nome, small remote towns in western Alaska.

The aircraft is a popular option for residents in the remote areas to fly to their destinations, with all of the flights the aircraft registered in the past week lasting under an hour.

As well as Nome and Unalakleet, the aircraft also flew to the small Alaskan towns of St. Michael, Brevig Mission, White Mountain and Stebbins.

The plane that disappeared Thursday night over Alaska was a Cessna 208 Grand Caravan.

The aircraft, operated by Bering, is capable of flying up to 12 passengers, and is a popular aircraft in the area used to ferry people to remote locations.

The plane is able to fly for three hours on a full tank of fuel when fully stocked before it is required to refuel.

Officials warned that severe weather is hampering their efforts to search for the Bering aircraft.

Visibility at Nome Airport was down to only half a mile on Thursday evening, and authorities said they expected wind gusts of over 35 mph.

The inclement weather meant air searches over the White Mountain were being limited, with crews also searching the waters in the Norton Sound inlet where the plane last registered.

The Coast Guard deployed a HC-130 aircraft to aid the search, which is carrying ‘specialized equipment for search and rescue that enables them to locate objects and people through no visibility conditions’, officials said.

The Norton Sound Health Corporation said it is ‘standing ready to respond to a community medical emergency’ amid the ongoing search.

‘A family center is accepting family members and loved ones in the Norton Sound Regional Hospital’s third-floor conference room,’ the institute, a small local hospital based in Nome, said on social media.

Authorities have warned well-intentioned members of the piblic not to join in the search for the missing Bering aircraft due to severe weather conditions.

‘We ask the public to please think of those who may be missing at this time, but due to weather and safety concerns please do not form individual search parties,’ the Nome Volunteer Fire Department said.

‘Families are encouraged to seek support at Norton Sound Health Corporation.’