Just hours after finding 10 people dead in western Alaska from one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years, authorities are racing to recover their remains and the wreckage of the small commuter plane from unstable sea ice before expected high winds and snow.

A small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on its way to the hub community of Nome was located Friday on sea ice, and all 10 people on board died, authorities said. The crash appeared to be one of the deadliest in the state in the last 25 years.

A Bering Air flight with nine passengers and its pilot went missing in Alaska after the plane suffered "some kind of event" and "rapidly lost altitude and speed" on Thursday