ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The small, striped plane rolled to a stop on a snow-covered airstrip in a remote western Alaska village not far from where a crash just days earlier had killed all 10 people on board. As the pilot disembarked, he was greeted by dozens of parka-clad residents, some offering hugs or carrying large hearts cut out of cardboard.
It was an affecting scene, and it highlighted just how crucial air service is in rural Alaska communities like Golovin, an Inupiat Eskimo village of about 160 people just south of the Arctic Circle. There are often no roads or rails to bring people to larger communities for essential, everyday functions, such as work meetings or medical appointments.
Several of those on the commuter plane that crashed Thursday were on board for just such reasons — traveling for work, to service a water plant, to mentor a teacher, to receive medical care.
“As with any other tragedy, our region comes together and our residents here in Golovin wanted to show Bering Air that we care and that we support them 100%,” said Irene Navarro, a lifetime resident. “We want them to know that we stand with them through the practice of healing and just to show our love and to let them know they are not alone.”
A Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome, a distance of about 150 miles (240 kilometers) when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. It was found on an ice floe in Norton Sound, southwest of Nome, the next day after an extensive search.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. All nine passengers and the pilot were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years.
Among those on board were Rhone Baumgartner, 46, and Kameron Hartvigson, 41. They had traveled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the community’s water plant, said their employer, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
Talaluk Katchatag, 34, was traveling for medical care, his family said.
Carol Mooers, 48, a school counselor in Unalakleet, was flying to pick up students to tour colleges in Anchorage and Juneau, according to an online fundraiser posted by her family.
“She was a keystone to our operations,” Unalakleet School said in a social media post. “There aren’t enough words to express the magnitude of loss or to honor her many contributions to the Wolfpack.”
Liane Ryan, of Wasilla, who spent 27 years as teacher in south-central Alaska, was part of a teacher mentoring program who was providing help in Unalakleet.
On social media, Redington Junior/Senior High School, where Ryan formerly taught, remembered her as a “pillar of joy, positivity, and encouragement.”
“Each day, she brought a radiant and loving smile to her classroom, the halls, and the volleyball court at Redington; her influence will forever impact the students, athletes, and colleagues with whom she worked,” the post said.
Alaska is so vast that a postage stamp placed in the middle of an average sheet of paper represents the area a person can reach by vessel, vehicle or train. There are limited roads outside the state’s population corridor, a 360-mile (224-kilometer) stretch from Anchorage to Fairbanks, leaving about 80% of Alaska communities isolated.
Flying is not a luxury for many residents, but their only way to connect to the outside world, said Dylan Blankenship, a spokesperson for the state transportation department.
That makes air travel essentially the only way to obtain essentials, including diapers, milk and groceries. In many cases, it’s the only way for people to make appointments or for high school sports teams to make away games.
“A mile road takes you a mile,” Blankenship said. “A mile runway will take you anywhere.”
In the summer, residents of villages like Unalakleet or Golovin can take boats along Norton Sound to Nome, and in the winter, snowmobiles are another option, but that’s a cold and long trip.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-daily scheduled flights Monday through Saturday.
“Our hearts are heavy with grief as we process this heartbreaking news,” Bering Air wrote in a statement on its website. “At this time, our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those affected by this tragedy.”
The airline has received warm support from the residents who depend on it. In the days after the crash, they came out to greet pilots in Golovin and other rural communities, including Noatak and Teller.
“Everybody was in tears,” including the pilot, said Navarro, who livestreamed the greeting in Golovin on social media. “We just wanted to show our love and let them know that we’re still here and we’re still going to be a customer.”
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Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska. Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.
