Alaska plane that went missing found in sea ice with all 10 on board dead

The wreckage of the small plane that went missing flying over Alaska was found Friday on sea ice — with all 10 on board dead, authorities said. Coast Guard spokesperson Mike Salerno said rescue crews located the plane by helicopter and lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate.  The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet around 2:37 p.m.Thursday and was headed for Nome, about 150 miles away, but lost contact with officials less than an hour later.Officials on Friday said the plane experienced a “rapid loss” in elevation and speed just before vanishing.Around 3:18 p.m.

Thursday, the plane had “some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed,” US Coast Guard Lt.Cmdr.

Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said Friday before the wreckage was found.“What that event is, I can’t speculate to.” The Coast Guard is currently treating the efforts to locate the plane as a search and rescue operation, McIntyre-Coble said, noting he wasn’t aware of the plane sending out any distress signals before vanishing.The single-engine plane had nine passengers and a pilot on board when it disappeared over Alaska’s Norton Sound, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Coast Guard officials said the plane went missing about 30 miles southeast of Nome and about 12 miles offshore. All nine passengers were adults and the plane was at max capacity at the time of the flight, officials added. The Alaska plane crash is the third major US aviation tragedy in a week. Last Wednesday, an American Airlines flight crashed into an Army helicopter near Washington, DC, killing 67 people.Two days later a medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing six people on board and another person on the ground.With Post wires...