Search crews hunting off the coast of Nantucket located a debris field confirmed to be from a missing Gulfstream G100 air ambulance. The medical transport jet vanished early Saturday morning while flying six people from Bermuda to Boston in storm conditions and reported electrical failures.
Latitude Air Ambulance, headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, confirmed that the Canadian-registered aircraft was operating a medical evacuation flight at the time of its disappearance. Clarence Togeretz, director of flight operations at Latitude, explained that the four-person crew consisted of two pilots and two medical workers, while the passengers consisted of a patient and their relative.
Massport confirmed that the aircraft never touched down at Boston Logan International Airport as scheduled.
Pilots Report Electrical Failures Before Steep Plunge Near Nantucket
Air traffic controllers struggled to maintain contact with the flight crew as the jet approached the Massachusetts coast. Radio transmissions captured by monitoring services reveal the pilot reporting trouble in the dark skies overhead.
At approximately 12:46 a.m. Saturday, an air traffic controller radioed the cockpit after noting unusual communications, asking the pilot, You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?
Flight tracking data from FlightAware shows the aircraft plummeted rapidly from its cruising altitude of 24,000 feet down to 11,000 feet in roughly three minutes before momentarily stabilizing.
An area fire dispatcher instructed emergency personnel just after 1:00 a.m. to prepare for a landing aircraft experiencing an electrical issue
before issuing the update that the aircraft has lost radio and radar.
Radar contact vanished entirely shortly after 1:00 a.m.
Rescuers Scour 1,644 Square Miles to Locate Wreckage
Coast Guard officials reported that searchers had scoured 1,644 square miles over approximately 27 hours before locating the wreckage south of the Massachusetts island. The FAA issued a Search and Rescue Alert Notice at roughly 1:20 a.m. Saturday, coordinating directly with the Rescue Coordination Center and the U.S. Coast Guard as surface and air crews converged on the area.
The coordinated response involves multiple military and rescue units deployed to the offshore search grid.
- An HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod
- An HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City
- A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Brant Point
- The Coast Guard Cutter William Sparling, a Boston-based Fast Response Cutter operating through the night
- Two HH-60 helicopter crews and an HC-130 aircraft from the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing
Experts Examine Sudden Descent And Storm Hazards
Robert Katz, a commercial pilot with 44 years of experience, noted that the sudden descent rate far exceeded normal operating parameters. The airplane is flying along 24,000 feet, and then very rapidly drops over 4,000 feet a minute, Katz said.
Former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo suggested that the flight encountered severe environmental obstacles simultaneously. This aircraft was dealt a dire one-two punch: a critical safety in-flight problem, followed almost immediately by a perilous weather event and an 11,000-foot plunge,
Schiavo observed, explaining that losing navigational instruments while flying blind into an active storm makes spatial disorientation dangerously easy.
Officials Respond to the Disappearance
A Logan Airport official confirmed the flight’s delayed arrival and stated that authorities’ thoughts remain with those on board and their loved ones while search operations continue.
My thoughts are with everyone on board and their families during this deeply worrying time. We are praying that all six people will be found safe, and we thank the search and rescue crews for their continuing efforts.
David Burt, Premier of Bermuda
Canada’s Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon stated that Transport Canada is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with rescue authorities. Meanwhile, the National Transit Safety Review Board told reporters it is currently gathering information regarding the incident.
The U.S. Coast Guard scheduled a press conference for Sunday morning at Coast Base Boston to provide further updates on the active search and rescue operation, leaving the condition of the six people on board unconfirmed.
