The plane was discovered Friday afternoon by a U.S. Coastguard helicopter after vanishing from radar on Thursday. Officials lost contact with the plane about an hour after it took off from Unalakleet

The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. The aircraft was 12 miles (19 kilometers) offshore, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

On Friday, searchers probed miles of icy tundra and flew over expanses of ice-covered seas in western Alaska seeking any indication of a plane that vanished while transporting 10 people