Fort Smith's three churches came together to organize the vigil, which included prayer, song, and calls from community leaders to support each other and stay strong.
The charter plane, a British Aerospace Jetstream 3212 operated by Northwestern Air Lease, was headed Tuesday morning to the Diavik Diamond Mine, some 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.
The Transportation Safety Board said the British Aerospace Jetstream passenger plane went down near Fort Smith, N.W.T., which is by the Alberta boundary.