A search and rescue operation is underway after a plane carrying six people vanished off the coast of Massachusetts. The US Coast Guard said a “debris field” was located in the water off Nantucket after the air ambulance disappeared over the Atlantic during a flight from Bermuda to Boston on Saturday morning.
The Gulfstream G100 took off from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport and was due to land at Boston Logan International Airport at 1:12am but disappeared at around 1am. According to flight data, the plane plummeted 14,000ft in two minutes.
Passengers and crew on board
Four Canadians and two Bermudian nationals were on board the flight. The passengers included two Canadian pilots, two Canadian medical workers, a patient from Bermuda and the patient’s relative.
The plane had been flying at an altitude of 24,000ft for over an hour before it nosedived to around 10,000ft, according to data from FlightRadar24. The Gulfstream plane was built in 1996 and registered to Canada-based company Latitude Air Ambulance since 2018, according to Canadian government records.
Coast Guard confirms debris field
“Search crews located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. The search operation is continuing with multiple aircraft and rescue boats deployed by the US Coast Guard.
Steve MacKinnon, Canada's minister of transport, said in a statement: “My thoughts are with everyone on board, as well as their families, loved ones and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time. We are closely monitoring the situation and are working with the relevant authorities as search and rescue efforts continue.”
Pilot reported electrical problems
Air traffic audio indicates that the plane may have been “coming in blind” when a storm loomed ahead shortly before it vanished. In the audio shared by LiveATC.net, an air traffic controller can be heard asking the pilot at 12.46am, “Roger, you said you're 'coming in blind.' Is that what you said?”
The pilot is understood to have reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as the plane approached the coast. “Are you declaring an emergency or no? You’re coming in a little weak so I didn’t hear what your response was,” the controller went on to ask, but received no response. An official search and rescue notice was issued at 1.20am, the Federal Aviation Authority said.
Mary Schiavo, a former Inspector General of the Transportation Department, thinks the plane may have lost its navigational instruments just as a storm moved across its path on radar. On the sharp drop in height she said: “Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm. It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind. It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc.”
