Authorities have confirmedthat all 10 victims aboard the small plane that crashed into the ice of Alaska’s Bering Sea have been identified and their remains have been retrieved.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department sadly announced that the bodies of one pilot and nine passengers were brought back on Saturday afternoon.
Beforehand, recovery crews had been racing to recover the bodies before a winter storm was expected to hit the region.
‘All ten people on board the Bering Air plane have now been returned home,’ the fire department shared on social media at approximately 3 pm, while efforts were underway to retrieve the aircraft.
State troopers also released the names of the 10 people on the plane who died in the wreck.
The pilot was identified as Chad Antill, 34. The remaining victims included Liane Ryan, 52; Donnell Erickson, 58; Andrew Gonzalez, 30; Kameron Hartvigson, 41; Rhone Baumgartner, 46; and Jadee Moncur, 52.
Ian Hofmann, 45; Talaluk Katchatag, 34; and Carol Mooers, 48 were also on the fatal flight.
Baumgartner and Hartvigson had traveled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the community´s water plant and died, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
The small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on a flight that was bound for the hub community of Nome
A Bering Air plane prepares to arrive in Ambler on Saturday, April 9, 2022 (Stock image)
‘The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska,’ David Beveridge, vice president of environmental health and engineering for the organization, said in a statement.
Bering Flight 445 vanished on Thursday while it was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome.
It was found the next day after an extensive search with all nine passengers and the pilot not surviving, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years.
The aircraft was found on an ice floe drifting about five miles a day, making difficult conditions for recovery crews, said National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy during a press conference Saturday afternoon.
As the community tried to process the deadly event, crews worked swiftly on unstable, slushy sea ice to recover the bodies and the wreckage.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory, with snow and winds up to 45 miles per hour hitting the region Saturday night, expected to last into Sunday evening.
The flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to Lt. Ben Endres of the Alaska State Troopers.
Ice is visible in the Bering Sea in January 2020, as seen from a small plane airplane near the western Alaska coast
Ice is visible in the Bering Sea in January 2020, as seen from a small plane airplane near the western Alaska coast
A photo provided by the Coast Guard showed the plane´s splintered body and debris lying on the sea ice. Two people in brightly colored emergency gear circled the wreckage.
‘It´s hard to accept the reality of our loss,’ US. Senator Lisa Murkowski said during an news conference.
Nome Mayor John Handeland choked up as he discussed the deaths and the response effort.
‘Nome is a strong community, and in challenging times we come together and support each other. I expect the outpouring of support to continue in the coming days as we all work to recover from this tragic incident,’ he said.
The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37pm on Thursday. Officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air.
There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.
The Coast Guard said the aircraft went missing about 30 miles southeast of Nome.
Data from the US Civil Air Patrol revealed that about 3:18pm, the plane had ‘some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed,’ Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said.
Small flights are relatively common in Alaska, as it is one of the most tangible ways to get around (stock image)
He could not conclude what exactly occurred and said he was unaware of any distress signals from the aircraft.
Planes carry an emergency locating transmitter. If exposed to seawater, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which then relays that message back to the Coast Guard to indicate an aircraft may be in distress. No such messages were received by the Coast Guard, he said.
Rescuers were searching the aircraft´s last known location by helicopter when the wreckage was spotted, said Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard. Two rescue swimmers were lowered to investigate.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending nine people to the scene from various states.
Flying is an essential mode of transportation in Alaska due to the vastness of the landscape and limited infrastructure, and it is common to travel by small plane.
The plane’s crash marks the third major U.S. aviation mishap in eight days. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation´s capital on January 29, killing 67 people.
A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-daily scheduled flights Monday through Saturday.
Nome, a Gold Rush town, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile Iditarod
‘Our hearts are heavy with grief as we process this heartbreaking news,’ Bering Air wrote in a statement on its website.
‘At this time, our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those affected by this tragedy.’
A phone line was set up to give updates and emotional support to people who had loved ones on board, Bering Air said. The company asked for privacy for everyone involved, and said it was committed to supporting authorities.
Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people about 150 miles southeast of Nome and 395 miles northwest of Anchorage.
The village is on the Iditarod trail, route of the world’s most famous sled dog race, during which mushers and their teams must cross the frozen Norton Sound.
Nome, a Gold Rush town, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile Iditarod.
The city said prayer vigils would be held Friday for those on board the plane, friends and family and those involved in search efforts.
