Debris found from missing air ambulance that vanished off Massachusetts coast
The Canadian-registered jet was carrying six people, including four Canadians, when it disappeared during a flight from Bermuda to Boston.
NANTUCKET — The U.S. Coast Guard has found a debris field from a missing Canadian air ambulance off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Four Canadians and two Bermudian nationals were on board the Gulfstream G100 jet when it disappeared early Saturday during a flight from Bermuda to Boston.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that it “located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft.”
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One of its cutters will keep searching the water overnight and into Sunday for the six people, the Coast Guard said.
Canada’s Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon said in a social media post that four Canadians were on the plane.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and are working with the relevant authorities as search and rescue efforts continue,” MacKinnon wrote.
The aircraft, registered to Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance, departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 12:41 a.m. local time, according to flight tracking data.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard early Saturday that it had lost contact with the jet.
Air traffic control audio posted by LiveATC.net captured a controller asking the pilot, “Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is that what you said?”
The pilot had reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as the jet approached the coast, according to the audio.
The pilot’s transmission could not be heard in the recording.
Flight tracking data showed the plane was flying at 24,000 feet before descending 13,000 feet in about two minutes shortly before contact was lost.
Former U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general Mary Schiavo said the plane may have lost its navigational instruments as a storm moved across its path.
“Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm,” said Schiavo, who is an aviation attorney.
“It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind. It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc.”
The Canadian-registered air ambulance jet had four crew members and two passengers on board, according to a statement from the Bermuda airport’s operator, Skyport.
Clarence Togeretz, director of flight operations at Latitude, told CBC News the people on board included two pilots and two medical staff from Canada who had flown to Bermuda to collect a patient and a relative.
The Bermuda government is in contact with U.S. authorities and families of the passengers, Bermuda Premier David Burt wrote in a statement.
“We are praying that all six people will be found safe,” he wrote.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information about the situation but did not immediately say if it would investigate.
The Coast Guard said the next of kin of those missing have been notified.
Latitude Air Ambulance, based in Hamilton, Ont., provides medical evacuation services and has been operating since 2009.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With files from Al Jazeera, The Independent and ABC News & Headlines
Amara Okafor covers health, medical research and public health in Canada for Novello Desserts.