In brief
A Gulfstream medical flight carrying six people went missing shortly after taking off from Bermuda en route to Boston. The FAA issued a search‑and‑rescue alert over Nantucket, where the Coast Guard began coordinated air and water searches. Flight data shows a sudden loss of altitude before communications died, and the pilot had declared an emergency. Both pilots and medical staff were Canadian, and the patient and their relative were not. The case is under investigation with an emphasis on locating the aircraft and any possible debris.
US authorities are searching for six people after a medical plane bound for Boston, Massachusetts, went missing early Saturday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration told the BBC that it lost contact with the Gulfstream G‑100 aircraft and put out a search‑and‑rescue notice just after 1:00 local time (6:00 GMT). An air and water search is underway off the coast of Nantucket, a Massachusetts island, according to the US Coast Guard's Northeast District.
The plane departed from Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport at 23:40 local time, according to flight data from FlightAware, and was slated to land at Boston's Logan International at 1:30 EDT (6:30 GMT).
According to the tail number released by the Coast Guard, the plane belonged to Latitude Air Ambulances, a company that provides international medical flights for patients returning home. Among those on board were two pilots and two medical staff, both Canadian, as stated by the airline’s director of flight operations.
The crew flew to Bermuda to collect a patient and their relative, who are not Canadian.
FlightAware’s tracker shows the aircraft significantly dropped in altitude before its communications went dark, plummeting from around 7,300 m (24,000 ft) to 3,300 m (11,000 ft).
Radio transmissions show trouble with communications between the air traffic controller and the pilot. “You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said? Are you declaring an emergency, or no?” the air traffic controller asked. The pilot’s response was inaudible. The controller later confirmed the pilot had declared an emergency.
An area fire dispatcher asked emergency crews just after 1:00 EDT to prepare to meet a plane with an “electrical issue”. The dispatcher later said the aircraft had lost radio and radar.
