US rescue teams are scanning the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, for six individuals aboard a medical aircraft that lost contact early Saturday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it lost communication with the Gulfstream G-100 at approximately 1:00 local time (6:00 GMT) and immediately initiated a search-and-rescue operation.
The aircraft was operated by Latitude Air Ambulances, a firm specializing in international medical repatriation flights. According to Clarence Togeretz, the company’s director of flight operations, the plane departed from L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda at 23:40 local time on Friday, bound for Boston’s Logan International Airport. It was scheduled to arrive in Boston at 1:30 EDT (6:30 GMT).
Togeretz disclosed to CBC News that the six occupants included two Canadian pilots, two Canadian medical staff members, a patient, and a relative. The crew had traveled to Bermuda specifically to collect the non-Canadian patient and their companion for transport back to the United States.
Flight tracking data from FlightAware indicates a critical drop in altitude prior to the loss of signal. The plane descended rapidly from an altitude of roughly 7,300 meters (24,000 feet) to 3,300 meters (11,000 feet) before communications went dark.
Broadcasts from LiveATC.net, as reported by the Boston Globe, revealed tense exchanges between the pilot and air traffic control. The controller asked the pilot, “You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?” and inquired whether an emergency had been declared. The pilot’s response was reportedly faint and unintelligible. The controller later confirmed that an emergency had indeed been declared.
Approximately ten minutes after the incident began, a regional fire dispatcher alerted emergency responders to prepare for a landing involving an aircraft with an “electrical issue.” Subsequent updates from the dispatcher noted that the plane had lost both radio and radar contact.
The US Coast Guard’s Northeast District confirmed that both air and water units are currently conducting search efforts in the waters near the Massachusetts island.
Medical repatriation flights are already risky, but losing comms this close to land is deeply concerning. Hope the Coast Guard finds them quickly.
Why did the altitude drop so suddenly from 24,000 to 11,000 feet? That seems like a critical detail investigators will focus on.
Praying for everyone’s safe return. The emergency declarations sound terrifying for those on board.