A Latitude Air Ambulance flight carrying six people, including two pilots, two medical staff, a patient, and a family support person, disappeared on Saturday while traveling from Bermuda to Boston. The Gulfstream G-100 plane, operating under the callsign Heartbeat 104, lost contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) just after 01:00 local time. The aircraft had departed Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport at 23:40 on Friday night and was scheduled to land at Boston's Logan International Airport at 01:30 EDT.
The US Coast Guard ended its search for survivors on Sunday evening after a debris field confirmed to be from the plane was found off the coast of Nantucket, a Massachusetts island. Flight data showed the aircraft lost significant altitude before contact was lost, falling from approximately 7,300 meters to around 3,300 meters. The Canadian company, Latitude Air Ambulance, confirmed that those on board were Canadian and Bermudian nationals.
Latitude Air Ambulance President Peter Byl expressed the company's grief in a statement on Sunday evening, saying it was an "unimaginable loss" for the company and the families of those on board. The company will focus on supporting the families, staff, and assisting authorities. Byl remembered the care, professionalism, and commitment the crew brought to their work every day.
According to Clarence Togeretz, director of flight operations at Latitude, the crew had flown to Bermuda specifically to collect the patient and their relative for a medical repatriation flight. The patient and family support person were identified as Bermudian nationals, while the rest of the crew were Canadian nationals.
Flight tracking data from FlightAware indicated the aircraft dropped sharply in altitude before all communications ceased. Radio transmissions obtained by the Boston Globe revealed a tense exchange between the pilot and an air traffic controller in the moments before contact was lost. The controller asked if the pilot was declaring an emergency, but the response was inaudible.
The US Coast Guard and other authorities will cooperate with Latitude Air Ambulance during recovery operations and any subsequent investigation. The company stated that determining the circumstances and cause of the aviation accident is a careful and methodical process, and they will not speculate about what occurred.
The incident is under investigation, and the authorities will work to determine the cause of the crash. This incident follows another recent aviation accident in Kenya, where a tourist helicopter crashed near Mount Ololokwe, killing all seven people on board.
Key points
- Six people are presumed dead after a medical transport plane crashed off the coast of Nantucket.
- The plane, a Gulfstream G-100, was traveling from Bermuda to Boston when it lost contact with air traffic control.
- The cause of the crash is under investigation, with authorities working to determine the circumstances of the incident.
