Frantic search for Bering Air plane which vanished mid-flight carrying passengers

A desperate search is ongoing for a commercial plane which has vanished mid-flight. Authorities have scrambled to help recover the Bering Air plane which lost contact as it flew over Alaska, US. Ten people, including a pilot, are aboard the jet, which was reported "overdue" when it failed to arrive in Nome, a remote coastal city in Alaska. It was traveling from Unalakleet, which is in the same state.

Crews are frantically working to establish the plane's last coordinates, but weather conditions in the area are so poor that it has limited the ability to launch an air search. 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. Norton Sound Health Corporation is standing by." A Federal Aviation Administration weather camera near Nome appeared to show near-whiteout conditions over several hours Thursday afternoon, according to Alaska’s News Source. Authorities have had to warn well-intentioned members of the public to avoid conducting any search parties due to the extreme conditions. Unalakleet, from which the plane left, is a small coastal region at the western end of Alaska.

"We ask the public to please think of those who may be missing at this time, but due to weather and safety concerns please do not form individual search parties. Families are encouraged to seek support at Norton Sound Health Corporation," the department said. Authorities said their last known contact with the pilot was when he told Anchorage Air Traffic Control he intended to "enter a holding pattern" as he waited for the runway to be cleared. Alaska State Troopers said in a statement: "AST was contacted by AKRCC in reference to an overdue aircraft.

"It was reported a Bering Air Caravan had gone missing while en route from Unalakleet to Nome, with 9 passengers and 1 pilot on board. SAR crews are working to get to the last known coordinates. Updates to follow.". Nome, a Gold Rush town, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile (1,610-kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Bering Air, which is a commercial airline based in Alaska, has been approached for comment. The incident in Alaska comes days after 67 people died when an American Airlines jet collided with a Black Hawk Army helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington DC.