Alaska's Department of Public Safety says the small turboprop Cessna Caravan plane had nine passengers and a pilot and work is continuing to get its current coordinates.
Its last position, flying over water, was received by FlightRadar24 trackers 38 minutes after departing Unalakleet at 1438 local time on Thursday for a flight that usually takes under an hour.
Bering Air is an Alaska-based operation with about 39 planes and helicopters.
Its director of operations David Olson said staff were working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance and search and rescue going.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement on social media that it was conducting a ground search from Nome and White Mountain.
"Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time," it said.Â
People were told not to form their own search parties because the weather was too dangerous.
The National Guard, the Coast Guard and troopers were also helping with the search, according to the fire department.
A Federal Aviation Administration weather camera near Nome appeared to show near-whiteout conditions over several hours Thursday afternoon, according to Alaska's News Source.
The names of the people onboard the missing plane were not yet being released.
With AP
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