10 Confirmed Dead After a Bering Air Cessna 208 Crashed in Western Alaska

The US Coast Guard has found aircraft wreckage that looks to be the Bering Air Cessna 208B that went missing over western Alaska on February 6. All 10 people on board were killed in the crash.

The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX is operated by Bering Air, an Alaskan regional carrier. It was flying from Unalakleet Airport (UNK) to Nome Airport (OME) at around 3:00 pm on January 6 with 10 occupants. Its position was lost at 3:18 pm, with the last signal showing a rapid descent 12 miles offshore.

The Coast Guard and Air Force deployed C-130 Hercules aircraft to search for the lost plane, but were unsuccessful. The search proved to be extremely challenging due to the lack of an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signal as well as snow, freezing drizzle, high winds, and visibility as low as 0.5 miles. Weather conditions improved the next morning, allowing the military to add helicopters and another C-130 to the search effort.

A day after the suspected accident, the Coast Guard tracked down an “item of interest” 34 miles southeast of Nome and sent a rescue crew to investigate. Two swimmers were lowered into the wreckage and initially confirmed 3 bodies inside the aircraft, with the seven others "believed to be inside the wreckage” but inaccessible to the team. However, due to the severity of the damage, the Coast Guard determined that the impact was unsurvivable.

Two of those on board were Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) employees, Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had gone to Unalakleet to perform service on a critical heat recovery system for the local water plant.

“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,” expressed Natasha Singh, ANTHC’s interim president and CEO. “...They gave the ultimate sacrifice for the people we serve in the work we do.”

FMI: www.uscg.mil