What happened
On a scheduled service flight, a single-engine airplane departed from Unalakleet Airport's Runway 33 at 15:38 local time. The flight, identified as BRG445, was traveling toward Nome with a total of ten fatalities, consisting of one pilot and nine passengers.
During the transit, the aircraft maintained an altitude of 7,700 feet for approximately 30 minutes. Following this period, the pilot began a descent to 5,300 feet. At 15:16 local time, while the aircraft was roughly 70 km from its destination, radar contact was lost.
Search efforts led to the discovery of the wreckage one day after the disappearance. The debris was located on sea ice within the Norton Sound, situated approximately 34 miles (54.7 km) southeast of Nome.
Findings
No specific cause for the loss of radar contact or the subsequent crash has been officially determined from the available information.