Wreckage of missing Alaska passenger plane found with ‘no survivors expected’

Contact with the pilot was lost less than an hour after take-off.

The US Coast Guard has confirmed that it is the Bering Air flight which went missing after leaving Unalakleet for Nome on Thursday afternoon. There are believed to be no survivors.

The remains of the plane were found approximately 34 miles southeast of Nome, and three people were found dead inside.

According to an update on X, seven more people are believed to be deceased inside the aircraft, but are "currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane".

"The Coast Guard determined the severity of the wreckage was beyond the possibility of survival," it added.

Radar analysis showed that around 3:18 p.m. Thursday "this aircraft experienced some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed," Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said at a news briefing earlier Friday.

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said its search and rescue team was activating for the recovery effort, with assistance from the Alaska National Guard.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is launching a team to investigate the crash.

Nome and Unalakleet are not serviced by the state’s highway system, leaving air and water or snowmobile and trails the main forms of transport between the two cities.

The Coast Guard in a post on X expressed its “heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident.”