Authorities are working to recover the wreckage of a plane crash in western Alaska that killed 10 people while investigators are trying to determine what caused the small commuter aircraft to go down in the icy Bering Sea.

The plane operated by Bering Air was carrying nine passengers and a pilot from Unalakleet to Nome in northwestern Alaska when it went missing, officials say.

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.