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Two victims of the Alaska plane crash have been identified as crews rush to recover the remains of the ten victims before harsh weather moves into the area.
A Bering Air plane carrying 10 people disappeared in rural Alaska during a storm on Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard announced the aircraft was found Friday approximately 34 miles southeast of Nome and that there were no survivors.
The plane took off from Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. before losing contact with air traffic control less than an hour later.
Two victims have been named publicly: Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson, who were in Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system at a community water plant, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
Rescue crews plan to use a Black Hawk helicopter to lift the wreckage off the ice, ahead of what the National Weather Service predicts will be “difficult” weather throughout Saturday.
“It’s slushy, young ice. It’s not stable,” Nome Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jim West said.
The National Transportation Safety Board has sent teams to investigate. The incident marks the third major air disaster this year, after crashes in Washington and Philadelphia.
First responders try to make progress during ‘weather window’
Rescue crews are hard at work recovering the bodies of 10 people who were killed when a Bering Air jet crashed in rural Alaska during a storm this week.
“Efforts continue this morning in our weather window to bring Bering Air passengers and crew home today,” the Nome Volunteer Fire Department wrote in an updated on Saturday on Facebook.
Snow, gales, and strong winds are expected later today.
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 20:05
‘Hazardous’ weather warning as crews work to recover plane
The National Weather Service is warning of hazardous weather that could last through Sunday in the area near where the Bering Air flight crashed, including snow, ice, and wind gusts as high as 45 mph.
“Travel could be very difficult,” the agency wrote in a forecast. “Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.”
Gales warnings are in going to be in effect on Norton Sound beginning later tonight.
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 19:05
ICYMI: Alaska officials provide update on Bering Air crash
Details have been scant this morning about the progress on the recovery mission for a Bering Air flight that crashed on Thursday, killing 10.
Local officials most recently updated the public yesterday.
Watch their full comments here.
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 18:05
‘We’re all connected’: Tight-knit Alaska towns brace for plane crash victim IDs
Authorities haven’t named all of those lost in the Bering Air crash on Thursday, but residents of the small towns around Alaska’s Norton Sound are bracing for the news.
“The whole Norton Sound is going to be affected by this,” Nick Hanson, a former American Ninja Warrior contestant from Unalakleet, the departure point of the flight, told Alaska’s News Source. “Whether they’re family or not, we’re all connected.
“We’re all just one big village.”
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 16:45
‘My heart is broken’: Alaska officials weigh in on crash
Alaska officials are mourning those lost in the Bering Air crash.
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 15:55
Coast Guard divers describe crash site
Despite unstable ice conditions at the crash site, the Coast Guard was able to lower two rescue divers onto the site yesterday.
“They were able to see inside the aircraft, and they saw three individuals who were unresponsive without any signs of life,” Coast Guard spokesperson Mike Salerno said Friday.
The rest of the aircraft was inaccessible due, though the remaining crew members are “believed to be inside that wreckage, and unfortunately, of course, it does not appear to be a survivable crash,” Salerno added.
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 15:25
Federal officials converge on Alaska to aid in crash response
Federal officials are aiding the sprawling rescue effort to recover the bodies of 10 people presumed killed in a plane that crashed in rural Alaska on Thursday.
The 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard is assisting in the mission, as is the U.S. Coast Guard.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are also en route to the disaster site.
“We have a pretty large response coming from Washington, D.C., from various locations in the air, in the neighborhood of nine people,” Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska chief, said on Friday.
The FBI’s Anchorage field office is providing technical assistance.
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 14:54
Victims named in Alaska plane crash
Two of the 10 people likely killed in the Alaska plane crash have been identified as employees of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson worked in utility operations for the group.
They were in Unalakleet to service a heating system at a water plant, the consortium told local media.
“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,” Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium interim president Natasha Singh said in a statement to Alaska’s News Source.
“They gave the ultimate sacrifice for the people we serve in the work we do,” she added. “Everyone at ANTHC feels a sense of shock and loss because they were so crucial to our Rural Energy and Tribal Support teams. My thoughts are with their families, the people who worked alongside them day in and day out, and for everyone else who lost a loved one today.”
Josh Marcus8 February 2025 14:41
Recap: What happened to the vanished Bering air flight near Nome
A plane carrying 10 people that went missing in rural Alaska during a brutal winter storm on Thursday, has now been found.
Rescue crews are worked through “zero visibility conditions” to search for survivors aboard the Bering Air Flight 445, though authorities later announced there had been no survivors.
Here’s what we know so far:
Mike Bedigan8 February 2025 14:00
ICYMI: Wreckage of missing Alaska flight found with no survivors
A plane matching the one that went missing in Alaska with 10 aboard has been found, along with three bodies, authorities have confirmed.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the aircraft had been found approximately 34 miles southeast of of Nome and that all the passengers on board are dead. “Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic incident,” the USCG said.
Read the full story here:
Mike Bedigan8 February 2025 13:00