Debris found in search for air ambulance that vanished off Nantucket with six aboard

The US Coast Guard confirmed Saturday that searchers had located a debris field from a medical transport jet that vanished off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, with six people on board. The Gulfstream G-100, operated by Canadian company Latitude Air Ambulance, lost contact with air traffic control early Saturday while flying from Bermuda to Boston. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert at about 1:20 a.m. local time, and the Coast Guard said crews would search through the night.

The aircraft departed Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport just after 12:40 a.m., according to FlightAware data reported by CNN. It was carrying two pilots and two medical staff, all Canadian, along with a patient and a relative who were Bermudian nationals, Latitude's director of flight operations, Clarence Togeretz, told CBC News. The crew had flown to Bermuda to collect the patient for a medical evacuation.

Flight tracking data showed the plane cruising at 24,000 feet for more than an hour before it plunged 13,000 feet in about two minutes, according to CNN. The Boston Herald, citing former US Department of Transportation inspector general Mary Schiavo, reported that the crew stabilized the aircraft at 11,000 feet before encountering an intense storm front. "They had a dire one-two punch," Schiavo told the Herald.

"Whatever happened caused the precipitous drop, and as soon as they got it stabilized at 11,000 feet, boom, they hit this weather front that was moving through." Air traffic control audio recorded by LiveATC.net captured controllers asking the pilot, "Roger, you said you're coming in blind. Is that what you said?" and "Are you declaring an emergency or no?" No response was audible, according to CNN.

The BBC reported that controllers later confirmed the pilot had declared an emergency. An area fire dispatcher told emergency crews to prepare for a plane with an "electrical issue," and later said the aircraft had lost radio and radar. Coast Guard assets involved in the search included two aircraft, a helicopter, a lifeboat, and the William Sparling, a Boston-based Fast Response Cutter, the Boston Herald reported.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Boston Logan International Airport, said the plane did not arrive as scheduled. "Our thoughts are with those on board and their loved ones as the search continues," a spokesperson said. Canadian Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon said on social media that his thoughts were with those on board and their families.

Bermuda Premier David Burt said his government had been in contact with American authorities and the families. "My thoughts are with everyone on board and their families during this deeply worrying time," Burt said.