Aircraft matching description of missing Alaska plane found, Coast Guard says

The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska said Friday afternoon that it had located an aircraft matching the description of the Nome-bound plane that went missing after takeoff with 10 people onboard on Thursday. 

The Coast Guard also reported that three deceased individuals were found inside the plane.

The flight, operated by Bering Air, was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome in Western Alaska when its position was lost about 12 miles offshore, according to the Coast Guard. Data from FlightRadar shows the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX last reporting info at 3:16 p.m. over the Norton Sound.

Earlier, officials said aerial searches carried out by C-130 Hercules planes from the National Guard and Air Force resulted in “no sightings.”

In a news conference on Friday officials said an “item of interest” had been found related to the search.