Investigators probe fatal Alaska plane crash as crews push to recover wreckage before inclement weather
Recovery crews worked amid freezing temperatures and slushy sea ice Friday to recover the remaining victims aboard a regional airline flight that crashed off the coast of western Alaska.
The small commuter aircraft carrying nine passengers and one pilot took off from Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon before disappearing.
The plane was later found on Friday about 54 kilometres southeast of Nome, the flight’s intended destination, according to the US Coast Guard. All 10 on board were declared dead.
This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, shows a small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on a flight that was bound for the hub community of Nome. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP) (AP)
The wreckage is currently resting on sea ice that officials described as young and unstable, and heavy snow and winds in the area are expected this weekend. The bodies will first be recovered, then the plane will be taken for further analysis, officials said.
Swimmers were “on the ice as we speak,” Jim West, Chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, said at a news conference on Friday night, adding that the focus of the recovery operation was to detangle wreckage and “bring folks home,” though a time frame is not clear.
“We don’t know how long that’s going to take. It could go hours; it could go potentially days. Coming up to tomorrow we have 18 hours of potential recovery time,” West said, citing the ever-changing conditions of the crash’s site and incoming weather.
A winter weather advisory is now in effect until 9 pm today, with blowing snow, rain and mixed precipitation to be expected in Nome and other parts of western Alaska, the National Weather Service announced.
Some areas may see up to five inches of snow, with ice accumulations of around a tenth of an inch, the NWS said. Wind gusts as high as 45 mph will also be recorded.
“The conditions out there are dynamic, so we’ve got to do it safely and the fastest we can,” he added.
Recovery crews worked amid freezing temperatures and slushy sea ice in the city of Nome, Alaska. (AP)
Learning how the accident unfolded
Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash –– and how the aircraft suddenly dropped in elevation and speed. Analysing air traffic control data will be key to the National Transportation Safety Board’s probe, officials said.
But before the wreckage can be recovered for examination, the focus on Saturday is on recovering the victims, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a Saturday news conference.
The NTSB has nine people working on the ground along with a dozen specialists supporting them back in Washington, DC, Homendy said.
“Please understand there’s some difficult conditions, because this is on an ice floe, which is moving about five miles a day,” she added.
The Cessna aircraft, operated by Bering Air, was about 19 kilometres when its position was lost, according to the Coast Guard.
The aircraft “experienced some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed” around 3:18pm Thursday, Coast Guard Lt. Commander Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said.
The search for the aircraft had been complicated by multiple factors, including inclement weather as well as the missing plane had not communicated its position through an emergency transmitter, officials said.
Visibility was better for searchers Friday morning: The sky was clear at Nome Airport around 10am, with temperatures of around 5 degrees. The National Guard and Coast Guard added helicopter search teams to the effort Friday morning, while another Coast Guard C-130 landed in Nome to assist with the search, the fire department said.
A small community accustomed to flying mourns
At a vigil hosted by the city of Nome on Friday, Amanda Snyder, pastor at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, urged those in attendance to lean on each other for support.
“Please do not isolate yourself in your grief. In the coming days, in the weeks, as we begin to hear of which families are impacted, our hearts are going to break over and over, and it’s okay to mourn and grief, but please do not isolate,” Snyder said.
“Words can’t express the loss we’re all feeling, we’re all connected in so many ways,” said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who joined the vigil via video conference. “It’s hard to accept the reality of our loss.”
It is not unusual for Alaskans to travel between places by small plane due to the vast landscape and lack of transportation infrastructure available.
“It’s just heartbreaking. Because every single person in this room has been on one of those planes,” Snyder told The Nome Nugget, the city’s local paper. “It hits home.”
Among the deceased are two employees from Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson, who traveled to Unalakleet “to service a heat recovery system that is critical to the community’s water plant,” the nonprofit said on Friday night.
The deadly crash has rocked the community of Nome. (CNN)
“Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson were passionate about the work they did, cared deeply for the communities they served, and made a lasting impact on rural communities across our state,” Natasha Singh, ANTHC interim president and CEO, said in a statement.
“They were the best at what they did and had just flown into Unalakleet to help address heating and mechanical issues in the depths of winter. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for the people we serve in the work we do.”
Homendy said she understands how tragic the crash is to the area.
“The NTSB knows that villages like Nome and Alaska aviation are tight-knit communities, so this tragedy affects so many,” she said Saturday. “Please know that we’ll work diligently to determine how this happened, with the ultimate goal of improving safety here in Alaska and across the United States.”
