A passenger plane has crashed in the U.S. state of Alaska, killing the pilot and all nine passengers on board.
Earlier, on January 29, a commercial passenger plane had collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., breaking into pieces and plunging into the Potomac River. That incident resulted in the deaths of the pilot and all 68 passengers.
According to reports from U.S. news outlets citing Alaska police, the crashed aircraft was a Cessna-category plane operated by Bering Air, an American aviation service provider. Planes in this category are generally small in size.
David Olsen, Director of Operations at Bering Air, told NBC News that the aircraft departed from Unalakleet, western Alaska, at 2:37 PM local time on Thursday, February 6, heading toward the Norton Sound area. The distance between Unalakleet and Norton Sound is 140 miles. Within 45 minutes of departure, the plane stopped transmitting signals to the radar.
Lieutenant Commander Benjamin McIntyre-Koble, spokesperson for the Alaska branch of the U.S. Coast Guard, said in a briefing, “Radar records indicate that the last signal from the aircraft was received at 3:18 PM. We believe a critical engine failure occurred, causing the plane to lose both its ability to stay airborne and its flight speed.”
McIntyre-Koble further stated that the wreckage of the aircraft was found 34 miles southeast of Nome, Alaska. Rescuers managed to recover the bodies of three victims from the site. However, due to the condition of the wreckage, retrieving the remaining seven bodies may not be possible.
On Friday, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy expressed his condolences over the incident. In his message, he stated, “My wife Rose Dunleavy and I are deeply saddened by the crash of the Bering Air flight. We pray for the pilot, passengers, and their loved ones.”