A Cessna plane crashed while flying from Unalakleet to Nome, Alaska, killing all 10 people on board. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report revealed that the plane was hundreds of pounds too heavy for icing conditions. The cargo gross takeoff weight at departure was 1,058 pounds heavier than the maximum allowed for forecast icing conditions. Additionally, the aircraft was using a payload extender, making it 803 pounds over the limit for any flight operations with that system.
The Cessna 208B took off from Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. on February 6th, heading towards Nome. However, it never arrived at its destination. Searchers found the wreckage on a large floating icepack southeast of Nome the next day. Federal Aviation Administration data showed the last location of the plane 32 miles southeast of the Nome airport, and 12 miles offshore of Norton Sound.
The crash is still under investigation, and the cause has not been determined. The flight was described in the report as an air taxi and commuter service. Nome and Unalakleet do not have access to the state’s highway system, so air and water transportation or snowmobile and trails are the primary forms of travel between the two communities. Bering Air, the company operating the flight, did not respond to requests for comment.
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