Latest news with #NomeVolunteerFireDepartment
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Reflecting on the dangers of Alaska's aviation
A plane flies over the town after taking off from the dirt runway on Sept. 14, 2019, in Kivalina, Alaska. (Photo by) It's heartbreaking when you hear about another crash like the recent one near Nome. For people in rural Alaska, flying is the only way to stay connected, and it's a huge part of their daily lives. This tragedy raises a vital question: Are we doing enough to protect those who depend on flying in some of the most remote and perilous conditions in the U.S.? As the plane, en route from Unalakleet to Nome, lost contact shortly after notifying air traffic control, radar showed a sudden loss of speed and altitude. The Emergency Locator Transmitter , which usually signals distress upon exposure to seawater, failed to activate, complicating rescue efforts. Despite freezing temperatures overnight, the response from local and federal agencies – including the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, FBI, and U.S. Coast Guard – was swift. However, the limited access to the crash site delayed efforts, highlighting concerns about outdated technology, such as the frequent non-distress Emergency Locator Transmitter alerts. The recovery of the wreckage and confirmation of fatalities is tragic. This is not the first rural Alaskan crash, nor will it be the last. Alaska's vast, often inaccessible terrain, paired with unpredictable weather, makes air travel a lifeline for many communities — placing them at higher risk when something goes wrong. In Alaska, flying isn't a luxury; it's essential. With most communities cut off from road systems, small planes are the only means of transport for people and goods. From high school sporting events to vital services, air travel is a necessity. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, between 1990 and 2015, Alaska accounted for over a third of U.S. commuter and air taxi accidents, including more than 20% of fatalities. Yet, as the need for flights increases, these risks are often overlooked. For example, Bering Air serves 32 villages in Western Alaska, connecting them with hubs in Nome, Kotzebue, and Unalakleet . Current systems, though helpful, rely on outdated technology and infrastructure ill-equipped to handle Alaska's harsh conditions. The swift response from the Coast Guard and Alaska National Guard was commendable, but limited access to the crash site delayed rescue efforts. Lt. Col. Brian Porter, director of operations for the Civil Air Patrol's Alaska Wing, highlighted a significant issue in Alaska's aviation safety: Many Emergency Locator Transmitter notifications are 'non-distress' alerts, often triggered by unintentional activation of the beacon or inadequate servicing. As Porter noted in a Jan. 16, 2025, article from the Alaska National Guard, 'Every ELT notification is treated as a real distress call until rescue personnel can confirm it is a false alert.' False alerts can complicate rescue operations, diverting valuable resources and putting responders at risk in Alaska's treacherous terrain. Regular servicing and proper registration of ELTs, Porter emphasized, are important steps in minimizing these unnecessary disruptions. Investing in updated technology, policies that ensure regular aircraft inspections, modernized ELTs, and real-time tracking systems are some steps in addressing the unique challenges of aviation safety in Alaska's remote environment. Though Alaska's leaders have shared their condolences, the ongoing challenges with aviation safety remind us all that more needs to be done. Investing in things like better funding for safety programs and more thorough crew training could go a long way in reducing future risks. This crash is not an isolated incident. It is part of a troubling pattern of airborne accidents across the U.S., underscored by a recent dismantling of TSA protocols and cuts to safety measures. These tragedies bring up deeper questions about aviation safety — not only in Alaska, but nationwide. As we mourn the lives lost, it is time to consider the ongoing need for improvements in air travel safety across Alaska. Alaskans deserve policies that address the unique challenges of remote communities and protect those who rely on air travel, no matter how extreme the conditions. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Asharq Al-Awsat
09-02-2025
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Remains of All 10 People Killed in Alaska Plane Crash Recovered
The remains of all 10 people killed when their small plane crashed into ice on the Bering Sea have been recovered, authorities said. The Nome Volunteer Fire Department made the announcement on its Facebook page Saturday afternoon. Recovery crews had been racing to recover the bodies before a winter storm was expected to hit the region. 'All ten individuals aboard the Bering Air plane have been officially brought home,' the fire department wrote in the social media post at about 3 p.m. Crews were still working on recovering the aircraft, the fire department said. The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. It was found the next day after an extensive search with all nine passengers and the pilot dead, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years. The aircraft is on an ice floe that is drifting about 5 miles (8 kilometers) a day, creating difficult conditions for recovery crews, The Associated Press quoted National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy as saying during a press conference Saturday afternoon. 'Please know that we'll work diligently to determine how this happened with the ultimate goal of improving safety in Alaska and across the United States,' said Homendy. As the community tried to process the deadly event, crews worked swiftly on unstable, slushy sea ice to recover the bodies and the wreckage. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory, with snow and winds up to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) expected to hit the region Saturday night, lasting into Sunday evening. Among those killed in the crash were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had traveled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the community's water plant, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. "The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska,' David Beveridge, vice president of environmental health and engineering for the organization, said in a statement. The pilot, 34-year-old Chad Antill of Nome, was also killed. The other victims ranged in age from 30 to 58 years old. The flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to Lt. Ben Endres of the Alaska State Troopers. A photo provided by the Coast Guard showed the plane's splintered body and debris lying on the sea ice. Two people in brightly colored emergency gear circled the wreckage.
CNN
09-02-2025
- Climate
- CNN
All 10 victims of the fatal Alaska plane crash have been recovered, officials say
All 10 people killed when a regional airline flight crashed off the coast of western Alaska have been recovered and identified, authorities said Saturday. 'All ten individuals aboard the Bering Air plane have been officially brought home,' the Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post Saturday night. 'Nome SAR efforts stand by for our Bering Air crew to complete their aircraft recovery operations.' The small commuter aircraft carrying nine passengers and one pilot took off from Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon before disappearing. The plane was later found on Friday about 34 miles southeast of Nome, the flight's intended destination, according to the US Coast Guard. All 10 on board were declared dead. The pilot of the plane was 34-year-old Chad Antill of Nome, while the passengers were identified by Alaska State Troopers as Liane Ryan, 52; Donnell Erickson, 58; Andrew Gonzalez, 30; Kameron Hartvigson, 41; Rhone Baumgartner, 46; Jadee Moncur, 52; Ian Hofmann, 45; Talaluk Katchatag, 34; and Carol Mooers, 48. The wreckage is currently resting on sea ice that officials described as young and unstable, and heavy snow and winds in the area are expected this weekend. The bodies were the first be recovered, then the plane will be taken for further analysis, officials said. 'We don't know how long that's going to take. It could go hours; it could go potentially days. Coming up to tomorrow we have 18 hours of potential recovery time,' Jim West, chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, said at a news conference Friday night, citing the ever-changing conditions of the crash's site and incoming weather. A winter weather advisory is now in effect until 9 p.m. Sunday, with blowing snow, rain and mixed precipitation to be expected in Nome and other parts of western Alaska, the National Weather Service announced. Some areas may see up to five inches of snow, with ice accumulations of around a tenth of an inch, the NWS said. Wind gusts as high as 45 mph will also be recorded. 'The conditions out there are dynamic, so we've got to do it safely and the fastest we can,' he added. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash –– and how the aircraft suddenly dropped in elevation and speed. Analyzing air traffic control data will be key to the National Transportation Safety Board's probe, officials said. The NTSB has nine people working on the ground along with a dozen specialists supporting them back in Washington, DC, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a Saturday news conference. 'Please understand there's some difficult conditions, because this is on an ice floe, which is moving about five miles a day,' she added. The Cessna aircraft, operated by Bering Air, was about 12 miles offshore when its position was lost, according to the Coast Guard. The aircraft 'experienced some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed' around 3:18 p.m. Thursday, Coast Guard Lt. Commander Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said. The search for the aircraft had been complicated by multiple factors, including inclement weather as well as the missing plane had not communicated its position through an emergency transmitter, officials said. Visibility was better for searchers Friday morning: The sky was clear at Nome Airport around 10 a.m., with temperatures of around 5 degrees. The National Guard and Coast Guard added helicopter search teams to the effort Friday morning, while another Coast Guard C-130 landed in Nome to assist with the search, the fire department said. At a vigil hosted by the city of Nome on Friday, Amanda Snyder, pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, urged those in attendance to lean on each other for support. 'Please do not isolate yourself in your grief. In the coming days, in the weeks, as we begin to hear of which families are impacted, our hearts are going to break over and over, and it's okay to mourn and grief, but please do not isolate,' Snyder said. 'Words can't express the loss we're all feeling, we're all connected in so many ways,' said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who joined the vigil via video conference. 'It's hard to accept the reality of our loss.' It is not unusual for Alaskans to travel between places by small plane due to the vast landscape and lack of transportation infrastructure available. 'It's just heartbreaking. Because every single person in this room has been on one of those planes,' Snyder told The Nome Nugget, the city's local paper. 'It hits home.' Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson were two employees from Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium who traveled to Unalakleet 'to service a heat recovery system that is critical to the community's water plant,' the nonprofit said Friday night. 'Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson were passionate about the work they did, cared deeply for the communities they served, and made a lasting impact on rural communities across our state,' Natasha Singh, ANTHC interim president and CEO, said in a statement. 'They were the best at what they did and had just flown into Unalakleet to help address heating and mechanical issues in the depths of winter. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for the people we serve in the work we do.' Homendy said she understands how tragic the crash is to the area. 'The NTSB knows that villages like Nome and Alaska aviation are tight-knit communities, so this tragedy affects so many,' she said Saturday. 'Please know that we'll work diligently to determine how this happened, with the ultimate goal of improving safety here in Alaska and across the United States.' CNN's Sarah Dewberry, Emma Tucker, Rebekah Riess, Chimaine Pouteau and Jeremy Harlan contributed to this report.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Wreckage of missing Alaska flight found and bodies of all 10 victims recovered
All 10 victims of the Alaska regional airline crash have been recovered, officials revealed on Saturday. The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post that 'All ten individuals aboard the Bering Air plane have been officially brought home to Nome. Nome SAR efforts stand by for our Bering Air crew to complete their aircraft recovery operations.' 'We thank the Airforce for their main role in the recovery efforts for the sake of our community team,' they added. All those aboard died in the crash, authorities previously confirmed. The U.S. Coast Guard said the aircraft had been found approximately 34 miles southeast of Nome. Three bodies had been found along with the wreckage. The other bodies have now been recovered. The remaining seven people were believed to be inside the aircraft but were currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane. 'Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident,' the USCG said. Bering Air Flight 445 was reported missing just before 4 p.m. local time on Thursday while en route from Unalakleet to Nome in the west of Alaska. The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan had been carrying nine adult passengers and a pilot on a 'regular commuter flight' before it disappeared during a brutal winter storm. Search and rescue crews scoured the ground throughout the night on Thursday, continuing operations all day on Friday. The families of all those on board had been informed, authorities said. At an updated press conference on Friday afternoon, USCG Lieutenant Commander Ben McIntyre-Coble said that 'some kind of event' had caused the aircraft to 'rapidly lose altitude and speed' but that the exact cause was unknown. McIntyre-Coble added that operations were still 'search and rescue. 'We are operating under the assumption right now that there are still people who are in a position to be assisted by the United States Coast Guard,' he said. 'We continue to have air assets overhead and are in close coordination with the local authorities, including the Alaska State Troopers, to provide potentially on-the-ice assistance to any persons who might be found. 'But at this time we are still considering that this is an active search and rescue case, and we have no immediate intentions to change the status of the case in the near term.' The plane took off from Unalakleet, a small community of 690 people, at 2:37 p.m., and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to the director of operations for Bering Air, David Olson. It went off radio roughly 10 minutes before its scheduled arrival in Nome. It was approximately 12 miles offshore, flying over the Norton Sound, according to the USCG. The tragic incident is the third deadly aviation disaster to occur on U.S. soil in less than two weeks. A mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, DC, took the lives of 67 people last Wednesday. Two days later, a medical jet crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, killing seven people, including all six passengers on board.
CBS News
09-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
All 10 victims recovered from Alaska plane wreckage have been identified
All 10 victims that were aboard an aircraft that went missing near Nome, Alaska, on Thursday have been recovered, the city's fire department said. Three of the victims had been found Friday in the wreckage of Bering Air Flight 445 that is on an ice floe. Crews recovered the remaining seven victims Saturday, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department reported. Alaska State Troopers later identified the pilot as 34-year-old Chad Antill of Nome. The passengers were also identified Saturday night as: 52-year-old Liane Ryan of Wasilla 58-year-old Donnell Erickson of Nome 30-year-old Andrew Gonzalez of Wasilla 41-year-old Kameron Hartvigson of Anchorage 46-year-old Rhone Baumgartner of Anchorage 52-year-old Jadee Moncur of Eagle River 45-year-old Ian Hofmann of Anchorage 34-year-old Talaluk Katchatag of Unalakleet 48-year-old Carol Mooers of Unalakleet After being brought to Nome, their remains were in the process of being transported to the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office in Anchorage for autopsies, state troopers said. Victim recovery was the National Transportation Safety Board's primary focus, and now crews will work to recover the Caravan's wreckage. The crash site is moving approximately 5 miles a day, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference on Saturday. She added that the area where the Cessna 208 Caravan went down is also expecting some snow, which was expected to hinder recovery operation. "The NTSB knows that villages like Nome and Alaska aviation are tight-knit communities, so this tragedy affects so many," Homendy said. "Please know that we will work diligently to determine how this happened with the ultimate goal of improving safety here in Alaska and across the United States." Investigators told CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave on Saturday that the aircraft is not equipped with voice or data recorders as it is not a requirement. Following victim recovery, authorities will search for other avionic components that store electronic data which may help paint a clearer picture of what led to the crash. The Bering Air Caravan that initially went missing on Feb. 6 on its way to Nome experienced a rapid loss in altitude and speed, prompting the Coast Guard to launch a search and rescue operation, officials said earlier. It was the third major U.S. aviation incident in eight days. An American Eagle flight and Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and plunged into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, killing all 67 people on the two aircraft. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and one more on the ground.
