In Mid-Air, A Plane Vanishes

A small plane carrying ten people disappeared off the coast of Alaska Wednesday night, and an urgent search is in progress.

The tiny Bering Air Caravan took off from Unalakleet, a small community in western Alaska, and was flying to Nome when it unexpectedly vanished off flight radars over the Norton Sound inlet at 3:16 pm local time.

Rescue operations are being hampered by choppy seas and cold weather, and units from the Coast Guard and Air Force are being deployed.

Little is known about who was on board, but it comes just a week after 67 people were killed in the Washington DC crash of an American Airlines jet with a military Black Hawk helicopter.

On Thursday night, the tiny aircraft disappeared from radars while en route to Nome from Unalakleet in western Alaska.

Exact coordinates for the aircraft are still being established, with the Coast Guard deployed to the area to specialized equipment that can ‘locate objects and people through no visibility conditions’, officials said.

Authorities said their last known contact with the pilot was when he told Anchorage Air Traffic Control that he intended to ‘enter a holding pattern’ as he waited for the runway to be cleared.

It is understood the plane was 12 miles offshore when communication was lost.

According to data from FlightRadar, the aircraft – a Cessna 208B – left Unalakleet at 2:40 pm, and was last seen over the Norton Sound at 3.16 pm.

The Norton Sound entrance divides the small coastal communities of Unalakleet and Nome, which are located in Alaska’s western region.

Shortly before the plane was dropped off flight radars, the pilot of the missing Bering aircraft was talking to air traffic control.

He reportedly told air traffic control that he intended to enter a holding pattern while waiting for a runway at Nome Airport to be cleared, the Nome Fire Department said.

Rescue teams admitted Friday morning that they have ‘found nothing’ in their searches for the missing aircraft so far, as officials said treacherous conditions hampered their efforts.

White Mountain Fire Chief Jack Adams said his teams were facing a ‘tough job’ to locate the aircraft amid severe weather.

‘Basically, you can’t see anything from the air or the ground, and in the dark looking for something in zero visibility is a tough job,’ he told Alaska News Service.

Temperatures at Nome Airport, where the flight was intended to land Thursday evening, fell as low as 17F, with freezing drizzle and snow diminishing visibility to only half a mile.

How many plane crashes have there been in the last month? What is going on? Poor servicing, and maintenance. Poor flight training. Risk-taking in weather. Impaired Control Tower monitoring and directing. Something is wrong!

Flights from Alaska in the winter are never a good time to fly. Turbulence bounces them all over the place. GPS systems are primitive and nothing to keep the wings from icing over. However, tons of people go missing in Alaska and some of them are never found. Perhaps it’s a wormhole to another universe that pops up now and again!

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, has intrigued scientists and conspiracy theorists alike with stories of disappearances without a trace.

But it’s not the only place in the globe that is surrounded by mystery. Even more terrifying are the tales of the Alaska Triangle.

Surrounded by sweeping mountains and heavy snowstorms and notorious for supposed alien abductions – Bigfoot sightings, and paranormal activity, this location has become so fascinating that the Travel Channel even made a series out of it, and while I’m slow to believe the paranormal explanations, it’s still a bone-chilling enigma that’s worth investigating.