The wreckage of a Cessna Caravan which disappeared in Alaska on February 6, 2025, has been located with no survivors on board, local authorities said.
The aircraft was found crashed into ice on the Bearing Sea, located of the west coast of Alaska.
On February 6, 2025, at 16:00 local time, a Cessna 208 Caravan owned by Bering Air went missing during a domestic flight from Unalakleet to Nome, carrying nine passengers and one pilot on board.
The aircraft was located on the night of February 7, 2025, about 34 miles (54.7 kilometers) southeast of Nome, as confirmed by US Coast Guard officials on X. The wreckage was found on unstable sea ice in the Bering Sea, according to CNN.
#UPDATE (1/2) #USCG has ended its search for the missing plane after the aircraft was located approx. 34 miles southeast of Nome. 3 individuals were found inside and reported to be deceased. pic.twitter.com/XndzBYHdCE
— USCGAlaska (@USCGAlaska) February 8, 2025
In an updated dispatch message shared on its website, the Alaska Department of Public Safety stated that recovery efforts at the crash site involved Alaska State Troopers, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and personnel from the Alaska National Guard on February 8, 2025.
Recovery operations included two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, a Nome-based UH-60L Black Hawk, an HC -130J Combat King II, and a team of pararescuemen. Initially, three victims were found deceased at the crash site, and the remaining seven bodies were later recovered. The names of the victims were released by the Alaska State Troopers.
“The bodies have been recovered and brought to Nome where they were positively identified by Alaska State Troopers,” Alaska State Troopers stated. “The bodies will now be transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage for autopsies.”
On February 8, 2025, NTSB Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy visited Alaska to provide updates on the investigation, noting that there are no leads in the investigation at this time.
“When we get the wreckage, we’ll be able to evaluate the different systems on the aircraft, including any sort of anti-icing system,” Homendy said during a brief conference seen by Alaska’s News Source.
The accident comes just a week after a collision between an American Airlines aircraft and Black Hawk Helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). There were 64 passengers aboard the aircraft and three soldiers in the helicopter, with no survivors.
