A commuter flight with 10 passengers crashed near Nome Alaska on sea ice during Friday resulting in the death of all occupants onboard. The single-engine turboprop aircraft Bering Air disappeared while flying from Unalakleet to Nome until the U.S. Coast Guard found it the following afternoon.
The Cessna Caravan disappeared from contact while transporting its full nine passengers together with its pilot during the initial hour of its flight. The authorities noted snowfall together with fog and extreme cold weather conditions when they analyzed the site of the accident. Emergency responders located the crashed remains 12 miles from shore at a distance of 30 miles south-east of Nome.
Radar analysis from Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble show the aircraft lost both altitude and speed unexpectedly at 3:18 p.m. without any emergency signals being received by the authorities. Authorities continue investigating the reasons behind this accident. 
Three major aviation incidents took place across the United States during a period of seven days starting from a plane crash near Washington D.C. then followed by a different crash near Philadelphia and culminating in this accident. The high number of flights conducted by air in distant Alaskan areas exposes the critical dangers which extreme winter weather brings.
People of Nome gathered in their historic Gold Rush town for prayer vigils dedicated to mourning the victims and their families as well as the search personnel. The local political leadership of Alaska along with its U.S. senators offered their sympathies to afflicted communities while promising aid to those impacted areas.
Investigational processes have revealed aviation risks that operate in Alaska’s harsh wilderness.
