(NOME, Alaska) — Crews in Nome, Alaska, are conducting search-and-rescue operations after a Bering Air caravan with 10 people aboard went missing, according to local authorities.
Bering Air Flight 445, a Cessna 208B, disappeared while flying from Unalakleet Airport to Nome Airport around 3:20 p.m. local time Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost,” the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska maritime region said.
An “item of interest” has been identified by an aircraft participating in the search efforts, Coast Guard Officer Ben McIntyre-Coble said during a press briefing midday Friday.
The item was found moments before the press briefing and no additional information is available at this time, he said.
A Coast Guard helicopter was being deployed to the location, he said.
The plane was reported overdue at 4:30 p.m., authorities said.
Radar analysis shows that at approximately 3:18 p.m., the aircraft “experienced some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss and speed,” McIntyre-Coble said.
“What that event is, I can’t speculate to,” he added.
There were nine passengers, all adults, and a pilot on board the commuter plane, authorities said.
Multiple agencies have been involved in the search-and-rescue effort, including the Alaska Army National Guard, Alaska State Troopers and Nome Volunteer Fire Department.
Some of the aerial search effort was impacted overnight by severe weather in the region, authorities said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it’s investigating. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy will travel to Alaska this weekend.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
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