When it left Unalakleet. According to the airline’s description of the aircraft, it was carrying the most passengers possible.
David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air, said the Cessna Caravan departed Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. and authorities lost touch with it less than an hour later.
The National Weather Service reported a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 Celsius) with mild fog and snow.
The aircraft vanished around 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome, according to the Coast Guard.
According to U.S. Civil Air Patrol radar forensic data, the aircraft had “some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss.
In elevation and a rapid loss in speed” at around 3:18 p.m., according to Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble. “I can’t speculate as to what that event is.”
