This aircraft experienced some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed.'

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 pilot was identified as Chad Antill, 34, of Nome, police said. Wasilla residents Liane Ryan, 52, and Andrew Gonzalez, 30, were identified as passengers, in addition to Anchorage locals Kameron Hartvigson, 41, Ian Hofman, 45, and Rhone Baumgartner, 46.