Officials have confirmed that the remains of all 10 individuals on the missing Cessna airplane that crashed off the coast of Alaska last week have been recovered.
In a Saturday post on Facebook, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department announced, “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.”
The remains of the missing Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX were discovered during a search and rescue operation after the U.S. Coast Guard was notified that an airplane with 10 individuals on board had vanished in Alaska on Thursday afternoon.
On Friday, U.S. Coast Guard Alaska released a statement alongside a picture of the airplane wreckage, confirming that it had “ended its search for the missing plane after the aircraft was located approx. 34 miles southeast of Nome.” Coast Guard officials confirmed that three individuals were “found inside and reported to be deceased.”
“The remaining 7 people are believed to be inside the aircraft but are currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane,” U.S. Coast Guard Alaska added. “Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident.”
According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the pilot killed in last week’s airplane crash has been identified as 34-year-old Chad Antill. The passengers killed in the crash were identified as 30-year-old Andrew Gonzalez, 34-year-old Talaluk Katchatag, 41-year-old Kameron Hartvigson, 45-year-old Ian Hofmann, 46-year-old Rhone Baumgartner, 48-year-old Carol Mooers, 52-year-old Liane Ryan, 52-year-old Jadee Moncur, and 58-year-old Donnell Erickson.
READ MORE: Plane vanishes with 10 people on board, major search and rescue effort underway
The Coast Guard said initial data indicated that the aircraft experienced a “rapid loss in elevation and rapid loss in speed” at roughly 3:18 p.m. on Thursday; however, officials have not yet revealed the cause of the incident, according to Fox News.
During a Saturday press conference, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters, “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.”
Fox News reported that the airplane crash in Alaska was the third fatal airplane accident in the United States in just eight days and was one of the deadliest airplane crashes in Alaska in 25 years.
