Five Planes Down in 10 Days? Another Apparent Tragedy Unfolding, This Time from Alaska

The frequency of aviation incidents has reached a point where headlines about them seem almost routine.

The latest aviation mishap occurred on Thursday when a commercial aircraft carrying a pilot and nine passengers vanished while en route to Nome, Alaska, as reported by CBS News.

According to Newsweek, the aircraft was a mere 12 miles from its intended landing site when contact was lost.

Before disappearing, the pilot informed air traffic controllers "that he intended to enter a holding pattern while waiting for the runway to be cleared," the Nome Volunteer Fire Department shared in a Facebook post.

This incident marks the fifth major aviation accident within a span of ten days:

• On January 28, an Air Force F-35 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, The Associated Press reported. The pilot successfully ejected and survived.
• On January 29, a tragic mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., involving an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter resulted in the deaths of all 64 passengers and crew aboard the commercial flight, along with three soldiers from the helicopter.
• On January 30, a medical transport plane departing from a Philadelphia airport crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all six individuals on board and a man on the ground, according to CBS.
• Most recently, on Thursday, a plane operating under a U.S. military contract crashed in the Philippines, claiming the lives of a U.S. service member and three military contractors.

In Alaska, rescue teams initiated a search for the Bering Air Cessna Caravan flight under "severe" weather conditions, which included "light snow, fog, and freezing temperatures of 17 degrees," Newsweek reported.

“We continue to expand search efforts to as many avenues as possible until the plane is located,” the fire department reiterated in a Thursday Facebook update.

The missing aircraft had taken off from Unalakleet, Alaska, situated about 150 miles southeast of Nome, according to CBS.

The families of those on board have been informed, as confirmed in a Friday morning Facebook post by the fire department.