All 10 people killed when a small plane crashed in Alaska have been identified, authorities said.
Chad Antill, a 34-year-old Nome resident, was piloting the Bering Air flight from Unalakleet to Nome when it crashed Thursday afternoon, Alaska state police said Saturday in a press release.
The Cessna Caravan, a single-engine turboprop plane, rapidly lost altitude around 3:15 p.m. Thursday about 35 miles southeast of Nome. Rescuers worked rapidly to locate the bodies of all 10 people on board before weather deteriorated over the weekend.
Another Nome resident, 58-year-old Donnell Erickson, was also among the victims, authorities said.
Many of the victims lived in the Anchorage area. Kameron Hartvigson, 41, Rhone Baumgartner, 46, and Ian Hofmann, 45, were residents of the city; Andrew Gonzalez, 30, and Liane Ryan, 52, were residents of nearby Wasilla; and Jadee Moncur, 52, lived in the suburb of Eagle River.
Two Unalakleet residents, 34-year-old Talaluk Katchatag and 48-year-old Carol Mooers, were also killed in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the disaster along with Alaska authorities. Air travel is common in the vast, remote state, where many cities are not connected by roads.
Unalakleet is about 150 miles southeast of Nome, but the cities are entirely separated by water and there is no paved land route between them.