Ten victims recovered from Alaska commuter plane crash

Authorities are working to recover the wreckage of a plane crash in western Alaska that killed 10 people while investigators are trying to determine what caused the small commuter aircraft to go down in the icy Bering Sea.

The single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. The Bering Air plane was found the next day after an extensive search. Nine passengers and the pilot were killed.

Crews on Saturday succeeded in recovering the remains of those killed in the crash from a drifting ice floe before the anticipated onset of high winds and snow.

the plane crash is one of the deadliest in the state in 25 years.

Officials said contact with the Cessna Caravan was lost less than an hour after it left Unalakleet on Thursday. Authorities said the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, and the aircraft went missing about 30 miles southeast of Nome.

The wreckage was found Friday by rescuers who were searching by helicopter. Local, state and federal agencies scoured large stretches of icy waters and miles of frozen tundra before finding the plane.

Officials saID a Black Hawk helicopter will be used to move the aircraft, now that bodies have been removed. The wreckage was located atop sea ice that is drifting about 5 miles per day, complicating efforts.

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.



(Photo: US Coast Guard via AP)