Alaska officials conducted searches on land and sea Friday for a small aircraft that has gone missing, as the nation held its breath for news about the 10 individuals onboard and tried to understand the circumstances surrounding the plane’s sudden disappearance.

Unfortunately, the search concluded with somber news on Friday evening when the aircraft was discovered in the icy landscape of Alaska. Coast Guard officials suspect that all 10 passengers have perished.

The plane was flying over Norton Sound, close to its intended destination of Nome, Alaska, when it stopped transmitting its location signal on Thursday afternoon, based on information from the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Just before its signal was lost, data from the turboprop Cessna Caravan indicated it suffered a sudden drop in both altitude and speed, officials reported on Friday. The aircraft was operated by Bering Air.

While fatal aerial incidents are uncommon, smaller accidents are frequent across the nation, and sometimes aircraft cease to provide location updates, noted aviation attorney and former Air Force navigator Jim Brauchle. In Alaska, many people rely on small planes for transportation, leading to a higher incidence of accidents in comparison to other states, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

“When contact is lost and the aircraft’s position can’t be determined, that is when it gets classified as missing,” Brauchle stated.

This situation is somewhat less common now thanks to a technology known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, which mandates that all aircraft send out their location data to air traffic controllers. Nevertheless, as Brauchle mentioned, “it still happens.”

Here are key points to understand about how a plane can end up missing:

How authorities can lose track of a plane’s location

Airplanes are equipped with transponders that continuously relay data such as altitude, airspeed, latitude, and longitude to ground receivers. If a transponder stops sending signals, it could result from an electrical failure or an issue with the transmitter itself, according to Brauchle.

The loss of location data doesn’t automatically mean that a disaster has occurred, he mentioned. However, the fact that the plane failed to arrive at its destination hours after it was supposed to raises troubling questions.

If there were a severe mechanical failure, a loss of control, or if the pilot became disoriented due to poor visibility and weather conditions, it is likely that the plane crashed over land or water, he explained.

Where did the Alaska plane go missing?

Officials stated that the last known location of the plane was over water. It’s probable that the aircraft went down in the vicinity of where it stopped transmitting, Brauchle suggested, but if there was a loss of power, it may have glided further away as it descended. Authorities will likely analyze the last recorded altitude to gauge how far the plane might have drifted from its last known position.

On Thursday, snow and freezing fog were reported along the plane’s flight path, with visibility ranging from 1 to 7 miles where it took off and between half a mile to 8 miles at its intended landing site, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines.

“The weather conditions likely changed significantly along the flight route over Norton Sound. Water temperatures in Norton Sound have hovered near freezing, raising serious concerns about hypothermia and cold-water shock for first responders engaged in search and rescue operations in or near the water,” Kines remarked.

Multiple state and federal agencies are currently conducting searches from the air and on land, combing through the coastline and sea ice, as per an update from the Nome Volunteer Fire Department on Friday. The public might not receive detailed information about the incident for a lengthy period as aviation authorities carry out a comprehensive investigation, Brauchle warned.

The likelihood of any survivors from the aircraft is slim, marking yet another heartbreak in a series of aviation tragedies this year, Brauchle observed. On January 29, a passenger plane from American Airlines collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., resulting in the deaths of 67 individuals, the worst air disaster in over 20 years. Just days later, a Medevac jet crashed into a bustling neighborhood in Philadelphia, killing seven and injuring more than 20. According to Brauchle, these recent, high-profile mishaps have heightened national awareness regarding aviation safety, though it is purely coincidental that they occurred in close succession.

“My primary concern is for the families affected,” Brauchle expressed. He has represented families mourning loved ones in aviation-related incidents. “People aren’t meant to lose their lives in plane crashes.”

 
Contributing: Eve Chen, Thao Nguyen and Christopher Cann, YSL News; Reuters