Alaska: Authorities have recovered and identified the bodies of all 10 victims from a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan crash that occurred on Thursday over the Bering Sea. The aircraft’s wreckage, found drifting on an ice floe near Nome, Alaska, remains at sea as officials prepare for challenging weather conditions.
Rescue teams, including the U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force, rushed to retrieve the victims before an incoming storm with snow and 45 mph winds could complicate recovery efforts. In a statement Saturday night, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department confirmed, “All ten individuals aboard the Bering Air plane have been officially brought home.”
A team of nine National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators arrived in Anchorage on Saturday to determine the cause of the crash. The aircraft, carrying one pilot and nine passengers, lost radar contact at around 3:30 p.m. local time on Thursday while en route from Unalakleet to Nome, located about 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
The Coast Guard discovered the wreckage on an ice floe late Friday, drifting approximately five miles per day. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy emphasized that the primary focus was on victim recovery, with efforts to retrieve the aircraft to follow. She extended condolences to the victims' families, stating, "We will work diligently to determine how this happened."
Rescue divers examined the wreckage on Friday but found much of the aircraft inaccessible due to extensive damage. Officials had planned to use Black Hawk helicopters to lift the remains of the plane from the ice.
Among the victims were two employees of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), who had been traveling to Unalakleet for maintenance work on a community water plant. ANTHC Interim President Natasha Singh described them as dedicated professionals who made a significant impact on rural communities.
This tragedy comes amid increased scrutiny of air safety in the United States. The NTSB is also investigating two other deadly incidents: a midair collision between a passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., which killed 67 people, and a medical jet crash in Philadelphia that claimed seven lives.
