Plane crash in Alaska extends string of aviation accidents

A plane carrying 10 people that went missing in rural Alaska on Thursday during bad weather looks set to be the third deadly aviation disaster in the U.S. over a span of just two weeks.

The Bering Air flight was reported missing at about 4 p.m. local time while en route from Unalakleet to Nome with nine passengers and a pilot on board, Alaska’s Department of Public Safety said. Rescue crews are scouring the ground for any sign of the wreckage of the Cessna jet, the AP reported. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday issued a search an rescue alert after the flight disappeared.

If no survivors are found, the tragedy will mean that 83 people have died this year alone in the U.S. as a result of commercial aviation accidents. It would mark one of the worst concentrated periods in aviation history in the nation, which typically has an impeccable safety record.

Americans are still coming to terms with the death of 67 people after a regional jet operated for American Airlines Group Inc. and a military helicopter collided mid-air on Jan. 29 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Days later, a medevac plane crashed soon after takeoff in Philadelphia with a sick child and five others on board.

The outsize uptick in accidents and fatalities contrasts with 2023, which became the safest year in aviation with zero fatal crashes. Two large fatal crashes outside of the U.S., in South Korea and Kazakhstan, in late 2024 made last year the deadliest in the skies since 2018.

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, AP said.

An FAA weather camera near Nome appeared to show near-whiteout conditions over several hours on Thursday afternoon. Alaska’s rugged terrain and often harsh weather can pose significant hazards to aviation operations in the state, which relies heavily on small aircraft to carry people and goods to its remote areas.