A PLANE with 10 people on board has vanished over Alaska sparking a frantic search amid dark and freezing conditions.
Eerie flight radar footage of the Bering Air Caravan's journey shows the moment it suddenly disappeared just an hour after it took off.
Authorities are now scrambling to determine its last known coordinates with no trace of its whereabouts so far.
The passenger plane was reported "overdue" when it failed to arrive at its final destination in Nome, Alaska, at around 4:20pm local time.
A pilot and nine passengers were on board at the time.
The aircraft is said to have left an airstrip in the Alaskan city of Unalakleet at 2:37pm before officials lost all contact less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air.
Footage from Flight Radar shows the plane, registered as a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX, reached an altitude of 5,300ft before it stopped moving on the map.
It was going at 135mph when it was last sighted just 12 miles offshore above the Norton Sound.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement: "We are currently responding to a report of a missing Bering Air caravan.
"We are doing an active ground search from Nome and from White Mountain.
"Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time.
"National Guard and Coast Guard and Troopers have been notified and are active in the search."
A Coast Guard plane carrying specialised equipment is helping the search.
It is conducting a thorough "grid pattern search" over the water and shoreline.
Authorities are also warning members of the public to avoid helping with the search due to the extreme weather.
There was light snow and fog when the plane left Unalakleet in freezing -8C conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
It is unclear who was on board the plane with Unalakleet being a rural community of less than 700 people.
It sits around 150 miles southeast of Nome.
Norton Sound Health Corporation issued a statement saying it is "standing ready to respond to a community medical emergency".
They have set up a family center at the regional hospital where the passengers' loved ones can wait for updates.
Alaskan Senator Dan Sullivan issued a statement on Thursday night via Facebook, saying: "We are hearing reports of a possible missing plane en route to Nome.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, their families and the rescue crew."
Bering Air is a popular Alaskan airline and serves 32 villages in the West.
Most of these destinations are served by two daily flights between Monday and Saturday.
The missing flight is the latest worrying aviation incident plaguing the US in recent weeks.
A passenger jet collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington on January 30.
It killed all 67 people on board both aircraft.
Days later, terrifying footage showed a medical plane plunging towards a busy Philadelphia neighborhood - killing seven and injuring 19 others.
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