Five Planes Down in 10 Days? Another Apparent Tragedy Unfolding, This Time from Alaska

When it comes to problems in the air, the news headlines are almost getting numbing.

The recent spate of aircraft going down took a new turn on Thursday when a commercial plane carrying a pilot and nine passengers disappeared while flying to Nome, Alaska, according to CBS News.

The plane was only 12 miles from its planned landing point when it disappeared from contact, Newsweek reported.

The pilot of the plane had told air traffic controllers “that he intended to enter a holding pattern while waiting for the runway to be cleared,” the Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement.

Local media are reporting a Bering Air flight is overdue at Nome and search & rescue efforts are now underway. #8E445 departed Unalakleet at 23:38 UTC (14:38 local)

Last position received at 00:16 UTC
64.330212, -164.02679
5,300 feethttps://t.co/MgIBmtsp2U pic.twitter.com/N4bMUjni0q

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 7, 2025

It was the fifth case of air travel gone wrong in 10 days:

On Jan. 28, an Air Force F-35 fighter jet crashed during training at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, The Associated Press reported. The pilot managed to eject safely.

On Jan. 29, a mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter killed all 64 passengers and crew on board the commercial plane and three soldiers aboard the helicopter.

On Jan. 30, a medical flight from a Philadelphia airport crashed shortly after takeoff. All six on board the plane were killed, as well as a man in a car on the ground, according to CBS.

And on Thursday, a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in the Philippines, killing a U.S. service member and three military contractors.

In Alaska, rescue crews launched a search for the Bering Air Cessna Caravan flight in “severe” weather conditions that include “light snow, fog, and freezing temperatures of 17 degrees,” according to Newsweek.

BREAKING: ALASKA PLANE MISSING—SEARCH UNDERWAY FOR 10 PASSENGERS

Emergency crews in Nome, Alaska, are racing to locate a missing Bering Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX.

The aircraft, carrying 10 passengers, vanished after departing Unalakleet on a scheduled flight to… pic.twitter.com/MQQBP7TcAT

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 7, 2025

“We continue to expand search efforts to as many avenues as possible until the plane is located,” the fire department said in a statement on Facebook published Thursday.

The plane took off from Unalakleet, Alaska, about 150 miles southeast of Nome, according to CBS.

All the families of those on board the plane have been notified, according to a Friday morning post from the department.

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