A PLANE with 10 people on board has vanished over Alaska sparking a frantic search amid dangerous conditions.
The Bering Air Caravan disappeared from aviation radars with authorities now scrambling to determine its last known coordinates.
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The passenger plane was reported “overdue” when it failed to arrive at its final destination in Nome just before 4pm local time.
It was travelling from Unalakleet with nine passengers and one pilot on board at the time.
The Cessna Caravan is said to have left an airstrip in Unalakleet at 2:37 pm before officials lost all contact less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air.
It was 12 miles offshore when it was last sighted, according to the US Coast Guard.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement: “We are currently responding to a report of a missing Bering Air caravan.
“We are doing an active ground search from Nome and from White Mountain.
“Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time.
“National Guard and Coast Guard and Troopers have been notified and are active in the search.”
Authorities are also warning members of the public to avoid helping with the search due to the extreme weather.
It is unclear who was on board the plane with Unalakleet being a rural community made up a of less than 700 people.
It sits around 150 miles southeast of Nome.
Bering Air is a popular Alaskan airline and serves 32 villages in the West.
Most of these destinations get scheduled flights between Monday and Saturday twice a day.
The missing flight is the latest worrying aviation incident plaguing the US in recent weeks.
A passenger jet collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington on January 30.
It killed all 67 people on both aircraft.
Days later, terrifying footage showed a medical plane plunging towards a busy Philadelphia neighborhood – killing seven and injuring 19 others.
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