A missing air ambulance carrying six people vanished late Friday on a flight from Bermuda to Boston, and the U.S. Coast Guard is searching the waters off Nantucket. The Gulfstream G100, operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, lost contact with air traffic controllers early Saturday.
What happened to the missing air ambulance
The Canadian-registered jet, tail number C-GRJP, left L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda around 11:41 p.m. ET Friday, the Boston Globe reported. The plane was bound for Boston Logan International Airport.
The pilot declared an emergency before contact was lost, the Globe reported. A Massport dispatcher alerted crews around 1:12 a.m. Saturday to a plane with an electrical issue, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert around 1:20 a.m. The Nantucket Current reported that the search is centered roughly 13 nautical miles south of the island.
Who was aboard the missing air ambulance
Six people were on the plane: four crew members and two passengers. Bernews reported that the crew included two pilots and two medical staff, and that the passengers were a patient and a relative. Canada’s transport minister said four of the six aboard were Canadian. Officials have not released names.
How the search is unfolding
The Coast Guard is leading the search for the missing air ambulance with a helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Brant Point and the cutter William Sparling. Nantucket Memorial Airport manager Preston Harimon said the airport will not speculate on the cause and defers to federal authorities.
The cause of the lost contact has not been confirmed. Air traffic audio captured a controller asking the pilot to confirm the plane was coming in blind, the Globe reported. Gov. Maura Healey said the state would work with the Coast Guard, and Bermuda’s government said it remains in contact with the families. The Coast Guard said it will release updates as it learns more.
The scare comes days after another aviation emergency, when a Flydubai co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain of a Tel Aviv-bound jet. That flight landed safely with help from passengers and reserve pilots.
