Coast Guard reports debris in search for missing medical aircraft

US authorities were searching the Atlantic off Nantucket on Oct. 3 after a Canadian-registered Gulfstream G-100 medical aircraft carrying four crew members and two passengers disappeared during a flight from Bermuda to Boston. The Coast Guard later said searchers had found debris, while the operation to locate the six people continued.¹⁴⁷

Emergency reported before contact was lost

The aircraft left L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda for Boston’s Logan International Airport while conducting a medical evacuation. It was owned by Latitude Air Ambulance, a company based in Hamilton, Ontario, that provides medical evacuation and repatriation services.¹³⁴⁶

The pilot declared an emergency before communication with the aircraft ended. The Boston Globe reported that the pilot had described electrical failures as the jet approached Nantucket, although the circumstances of the incident remained unconfirmed.⁴⁵⁷⁸

Published accounts differ over the aircraft’s descent. According to Al Jazeera, the aircraft dropped 11,000 feet, from 24,000 to 13,000 feet, over roughly two minutes before air traffic controllers lost communication. CBC reported a descent from 24,000 feet to 11,000 feet followed by a period of level flight, while The Boston Globe reported a 13,000-foot descent in three minutes.⁴⁵⁸

The Boston Globe reported that the aircraft disappeared from radar and did not arrive at Logan. It said airport emergency crews had been told to prepare for the jet, while Nantucket police searched the island airport and found no sign of it.⁸

Search concentrated off Nantucket

The Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard after losing contact with the aircraft, and an air-and-water search began off Nantucket. Aircraft and surface vessels joined the operation; NPR/WUNC reported that the Coast Guard deployed two search-and-rescue planes, a helicopter and a motor lifeboat.¹²⁶⁷

The Coast Guard subsequently said debris from the Canadian air ambulance had been located off Nantucket, according to NPR/WUNC. Searchers continued looking for the people aboard, and no finding about their condition was reported.⁷

The National Transportation Safety Board began collecting information about the situation. Bermuda’s government contacted US authorities and the passengers’ families, while Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said the state would support the search effort.⁴⁵

Six people aboard

The confirmed passenger count was four crew members and two passengers. The Straits Times reported that the group comprised two pilots, two medical staff, a patient and a family member; The Boston Globe identified the second passenger as the patient’s son and reported that the crew were Canadian and the passengers Bermudian.¹⁴⁶⁸

Initial reports did not identify the people aboard. Latitude Air Ambulance operations manager Clarence Togeretz said the company had lost contact with the flight and contacted the Coast Guard, according to CBC.¹³⁵

Accounts also differ on the departure time. Al Jazeera reported that the jet left Bermuda at 12:41am local time, while the BBC gave a departure time of 11:40pm. The BBC reported that the flight had been scheduled to arrive at Logan at 1:30am EDT.²⁴