In brief
An international medical flight bound for Boston disappeared off the coast of Nantucket early Saturday morning, prompting a rapid response from the Coast Guard and FAA. The Gulfstream G‑100, registered to Latitude Air Ambulances, suffered a dramatic loss of altitude before communications went quiet. With two pilots and two Canadian medical staff on board, investigators are scrambling to uncover the cause as search helicopters scour the waters near the island.
A Gulfstream G‑100 medical aircraft vanished from radar off Nantucket, Massachusetts, early Saturday, leaving six people aboard feared missing. The FAA was alerted just after 1:00 a.m. local time, and a search‑and‑rescue notice was issued as the aircraft’s transponder stopped transmitting.
The flight, operated by Latitude Air Ambulances, had departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 11:40 p.m. local time en route to Boston’s Logan International Airport, scheduled to arrive around 1:30 a.m. local. Flight data showed the jet plummeted from an altitude of roughly 7,300 m (24,000 ft) to 3,300 m (11,000 ft) before contact ceased.
The crew consisted of two pilots and two Canadian medical staff, according to Latitude’s director of flight operations, Clarence Togeretz, who said the team had been transporting a patient and relative from Bermuda. Investigators are examining recorded radio transmissions that suggest a possible emergency declaration before the aircraft lost radio and radar contact.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Northeast District has deployed air and sea assets to search the waters around Nantucket, while federal agencies coordinate a comprehensive search and rescue operation. The aircraft’s tail number and operator were released to the public to aid in identification and recovery efforts.
Updates will follow as authorities search for the missing plane and its crew, and as any potential wreckage is found in the northeastern Atlantic.
