After almost 24 hours of searching for the missing Bering Air passenger plane in Alaska, the wreckage of the aircraft was found yesterday, February 7, 2025.
According to data available on FlightRadar24, the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan EX, registration N321BA, carrying nine passengers, was flying Flight 445 from Unalakleet to Nome on the west coast of Alaska in the early afternoon hours of 6 February 2025. It is visible that, approximately half an hour after takeoff, the aircraft began to gradually descend, and a few minutes later, while flying over the Bering Sea, its position was no longer located and it has been lost since then.
The United States Coast Guard was involved in the search for the missing aircraft by sending a Lockheed HC-130 Hercules military aircraft, intended for search and rescue, from Kodiak, Alaska. The search was hampered by poor weather conditions and reduced visibility.
According to aviation portal Simple Flying, the wreckage of the plane was found badly damaged by a strong impact with the ground about 30 miles southeast of the plane’s destination in Nome. Although rescuers only found three bodies inside the plane that showed no signs of life, it is assumed that the bodies of the remaining passengers, who died at the scene of the accident, are also inside the wreckage, although they were not seen due to the severe damage and condition of the aircraft itself. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the loss of altitude and the crash of the aircraft itself. Due to the icy weather conditions, it is assumed that the potential icing as the cause of the final crash of the aircraft itself will be investigated first.
Bering Air plays an important role in traffic connectivity along the northwest coast of Alaska. According to data from their official website, Bering Air has Beech 1900, Beech King Air, Cessna Sky Courier and CASA 212 cargo aircraft, several types of helicopters, and 15 Cessna Caravan aircraft in its fleet.
