The U.S. Coast Guard has found a debris field linked to a missing medical transport aircraft off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, as crews continue searching for the six people who were aboard the plane.
The Canadian-registered Gulfstream G100 was flying from Bermuda to Boston when air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft early Saturday. The U.S. Coast Guard launched an air and sea search after being alerted by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The aircraft was operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, an Ontario-based company that provides medical transportation services.
Debris located off Nantucket
Coast Guard search crews located a debris field in waters south of Nantucket late Saturday. Authorities confirmed that the debris was associated with the missing aircraft.
The discovery shifted the operation from an initial search for the aircraft to an ongoing effort to locate the six people who were on board.
The Coast Guard said one of its cutters continued searching the area overnight. Authorities have not publicly announced the identities of those aboard.
The search area is located south of Nantucket, an island off the Massachusetts coast and southeast of Boston.
Six people were aboard
The aircraft was carrying six people in total.
According to information provided by authorities and Latitude Air Ambulance, the flight had four Canadian crew members and two Bermudian passengers. The crew consisted of two pilots and two medical personnel, while the passengers included a patient and a family member.
Canadian Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said his government was closely monitoring the situation and working with authorities involved in the search and rescue operation.
The governments of Canada and Bermuda have also been coordinating with U.S. authorities as the search continues.
Flight was travelling from Bermuda to Boston
The Gulfstream G100 departed L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda during the early hours of Saturday and was headed for Boston Logan International Airport.
The aircraft was expected to reach Boston at around 1:30 a.m. local time. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert after contact with the aircraft was lost.
The Coast Guard then deployed aircraft and surface vessels to search the waters around Nantucket. The response included Coast Guard aircraft, a helicopter, a motor lifeboat and the Coast Guard cutter William Sparling.
Aircraft experienced problems before disappearing
Information from air traffic communications indicates that the aircraft encountered serious problems shortly before contact was lost.
The pilot reportedly reported electrical problems and declared an emergency. Air traffic controllers subsequently struggled to maintain communication with the aircraft.
The plane also experienced a rapid descent from its cruising altitude shortly before disappearing from tracking systems. Preliminary flight-tracking data showed the aircraft dropping thousands of feet within a short period.
An air traffic controller was heard asking whether the pilot was “coming in blind,” although investigators have not established exactly what caused the loss of communication or the aircraft’s disappearance.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the electrical problems, weather conditions or another factor caused the aircraft to go down.
Search for the six people continues
Despite finding the debris field, authorities have not announced the recovery of any of the six people who were aboard.
The Coast Guard has continued search operations in the waters around Nantucket, while Canadian and Bermudian officials remain in contact with U.S. authorities.
The identities of those aboard have not been publicly released, and officials have said next of kin have been notified.
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun gathering information about the incident, although it had not immediately confirmed whether it would open a formal investigation.
Investigation expected
The discovery of the debris is likely to provide investigators with important evidence about what happened during the final minutes of the flight.
Investigators will need to determine why the aircraft experienced electrical problems, why it descended rapidly and what happened after communication with air traffic control was lost.
Authorities are also expected to examine weather conditions, flight data and communications between the crew and air traffic controllers.
For now, the search remains focused on finding the six people who were aboard the aircraft and securing the crash area.
Source attribution: This report is based on current reporting from Reuters, The Associated Press, U.S. Coast Guard-linked information and other contemporary reports. Details about the cause of the incident remain under investigation.
