A search is underway in Alaska after a plane with 10 people on board never arrived in Nome when scheduled, officials said.
The Bering Air Caravan flight, from Unalakleet to Nome, was reported overdue to Alaska State Troopers at 4 p.m. local time, the law enforcement agency said.
There were nine passengers and a pilot on board, officials said.
The Coast Guard has been notified and there is also an active ground search, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement on social media. Weather conditions limited air operations Thursday afternoon, it said.
A C-130 Coast Guard plane will fly a grid pattern over the area, and has equipment that can detect people and objects under poor visibility, the fire department said in an update around 8 p.m. Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage was also sending flight support, the fire department said.
“Ground crews have covered ground all along the coast from Nome to Topkok,” the fire department said. “The planes exact location is still unknown. We continue to expand search efforts to as many avenues as possible until the plane is located.”
Bering Air Director of Operations David Olson said the flight took off from Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., NBC affiliate KTUU of Anchorage reported.
Unalakleet is a small coastal community on the western coast of Alaska off Norton Sound, and Nome is around 141 miles to the northwest.
