The remains of all 10 people were killed when their small plane collapsed on the ice in the Bering Sea recovered, authorities said.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department made an announcement on the Facebook page this Saturday afternoon. Recovery crews are racing to recover bodies before a winter storm is expected to hit the region.
“All 10 individuals riding on the beering air plane were officially brought home,” the fire department wrote in a social media post around 3pm.
Crews are still working on aircraft recovery, the fire department said.
The Bering Air Plane is a single-engine turboprop travels from Unalakleet to the Nome hub community when it disappeared on Thursday afternoon. It was found the next day after a wide search with all nine passengers and the pilot was dead.
As the community tries to process the deadly event, the staff works fast in the unstable, slippery sea ice to recover the bodies and the destruction of less than a day before the bad weather is expected. Officials said a black Hawk helicopter would be used to move the aircraft once the bodies were removed.
Among those killed in the crash were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They traveled to the Unalakleet to serve a heat recovery system that was essential to community water, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
“The two members of our team have lost their lives serving others,” David Beveridge, vice-president of health and engineering, said in a statement. “The loss of two incredible -believed individuals and all on board the plane will be felt throughout Alaska.”
Other people’s names are not released.
All 10 people riding on the plane were adults, and the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to LT Ben Endres of Alaska State troops.
A picture provided by the US Coast Guard showed a splintered body of plane and lips lying on sea ice. Two people in brightly colored emergency gear surrounded the destruction.
“It’s hard to accept the reality of our loss,” Senator Lisa Murkowski said at a news conference at night.
Nome’s mayor John Handeland, chuckled as he discussed the death and effort of responding.
“Nome is a strong community, and in challenging times we are together and support each other. I hope the pouring support will continue in the coming days as we all work to recover from this tragedy,” Handeland said.
The Cessna Caravan aircraft left Unalakleet at 2.37pm on Thursday, and officials lost contact with it for less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operation for Bering Air. There was a light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17F (-8.3C), according to the National Weather Service.
The US Coast Guard said the aircraft lost nearly 30 miles (48km) southeast of Nome.
Radar Forensic data provided by US Civil Air Patrol indicates that at about 3.18pm, the plane has “some type of event that has caused them to experience a rapid loss in height and a rapid loss of speed” , COAST GUARD LT CMDR Benjamin McIntyre- Coble said. “What is that event, I can’t imagine.”
McIntyre-Covers said he did not know any anxiety signals from the aircraft. Planes carry an emergency transmitter search. If exposed to sea water, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which will then return that message to the Coast Guard to indicate an aircraft may be in anxiety. No such messages were received by the Coast Guard, he said.
Savior were looking for the last known location of the helicopter aircraft when he saw the destruction, said Mike Salerno, a spokesman for the US Coast Guard. Two swimming swimmers were lowered to investigate.
Local, state and federal agencies helped find efforts, combing along the water with dotted ice and slamming miles of frozen tundra.
The National Transportation Safety Board sends nine people to the scene from various states.
Flying is an important mode of transportation to Alaska due to the vast expanse of the scenery and limited infrastructure. Most communities are not connected to the formed road system that serves the most popular region of the state, and are usually traveling by small planes.
Some high school teams fly to sports events against high school rivals, and goods are brought to many communities by barge or by wind.
The airplane crashing marked the third major US aviation mishap in eight days. An commercial jetliner and an army helicopter collided near the country’s capital on January 29, which killed 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed into Philadelphia on January 31, killing six people on board and another person on the ground.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in West Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-day-day-scheduled flights Monday to Saturday.
Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people about 150 miles (about 240km) southeast of the Nome and 395 miles (about 640km) north-west of anchorage. The village is on the Iditarod Trail, the route of the most popular dog breed worldwide, where mushers and their teams must cross the frozen Norton Sound.
Nome, a town of Gold Rush, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the end of 1,000 miles (1,610km). The city said prayer vigils were held on Friday for those on the planes, friends and family, and those involved in search efforts.
