US Coast Guard Searches for Missing Air Ambulance with Six People
The US Coast Guard reported late on Saturday that it had located debris from a medical transport aircraft off the shore of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts and was actively searching for the six individuals who were on board. The Gulfstream G-100 jet lost contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during a scheduled flight from Bermuda to Boston on Saturday morning. In a statement provided to the Guardian, an FAA spokesperson confirmed that the agency issued a search-and-rescue alert notice for the aircraft at approximately 1:20 am local time on Saturday.
The Canadian-registered air ambulance plane carried four crew members and two passengers when it departed from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport overnight bound for Massachusetts. According to a statement from Skyport, the operator of the Bermuda airport obtained by the Associated Press, four Canadians were among those on the plane. Canadian Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon posted on social media that he was closely monitoring the situation and working with relevant authorities as search and rescue efforts continued. The remaining two passengers were identified as Bermudian nationals by the Coast Guard.
Search operations were set to continue throughout the night near Nantucket, an island community located south of mainland Massachusetts. David Burt, the Premier of Bermuda, stated that the government was in contact with US authorities and the families of the passengers. Flight tracking data from FlightAware indicated that the aircraft, registered to Latitude Air Ambulance, departed Bermuda at 12:41 am on Saturday. The plane was flying at an altitude of 24,000 feet for much of the journey before descending 13,000 feet in about two minutes shortly before flight controllers lost contact.
Boston 25 TV station posted an audio clip from Boston Logan International Airport in which an air traffic controller could be heard asking the Gulfstream pilot if they were coming in blind and whether the plane was declaring an emergency. No response was heard. Latitude, based in Ontario, Canada, provides medical evacuation services. Clarence Togeretz, the director of flight operations at Latitude, told NBC News that the company was concerned because the crew did not report in timely manner but remained optimistic that the worst had not happened.
The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Boston Logan International Airport, confirmed that the aircraft did not arrive as scheduled. A spokesperson for the port authority expressed thoughts with those onboard and their loved ones as the search continued. The FAA is coordinating with the Rescue Coordination Center and the US Coast Guard to locate the missing aircraft.
This report was produced in the Europe Brief News newsroom.
