A medical evacuation flight carrying six people from Bermuda to Boston lost contact with air traffic control and disappeared while approaching Massachusetts. The Canadian-registered Gulfstream G100, operated by Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance, was flying at about 24,000 feet when the pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency. The aircraft was carrying four crew members, including two pilots and two medical personnel, as well as a Bermudian patient and a family member accompanying the patient.
The pilot's last communication with air traffic control indicated that the aircraft was "coming in blind" due to the electrical problems. Minutes later, the plane descended over 13,000 feet, and radio and radar contact were lost. The aircraft was expected to land at Boston Logan International Airport about 15 minutes later but never arrived. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert, and the US Coast Guard was notified to begin searching the waters south of Nantucket.
A search operation was launched, involving boats, aircraft, and helicopters, which expanded across hundreds of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean. The search area was later extended to the seabed, with authorities preparing to use sonar to examine the ocean floor. The Coast Guard confirmed that a debris field linked to the aircraft was found off the coast of Nantucket, but the six people on board remain unaccounted for.
The cause of the incident remains unknown, and investigators have not established that the electrical problems caused the aircraft to crash. Aviation attorney and former US Transportation Department inspector general Mary Schiavo suggested that the crew may have lost critical instruments, contributing to the incident. Schiavo noted that losing reliable instruments in stormy conditions could cause a pilot to become disoriented.
Bermuda Premier David Burt stated that the government was in contact with the families of the two Bermudian passengers and the authorities leading the search. Transport Canada is also working with US authorities, while the National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information about the incident. The incident has sparked an investigation into the cause of the disappearance.
The six people on board the flight included four Canadians and two Bermudian nationals. The aircraft took off from L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda at about 11:41 pm on Friday for the roughly 800-mile flight to Boston Logan International Airport. The flight-tracking data showed that the aircraft descended by about 13,000 feet in roughly three minutes before contact was lost.
The search for the six people on board continues, with the Coast Guard cutter William Sparling remaining in the area overnight. The agency said its crews would continue searching the water, and the search has also moved towards the seabed. Authorities are working to determine the cause of the incident and find the missing individuals.
Key points
- - A medical evacuation flight carrying six people disappeared off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. - The pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency before losing contact with air traffic control. - A debris field linked to the aircraft was found, but the six people on board remain unaccounted for.