After 14,000 feet Plunge in 2 Minutes, Debris from Missing Plane with 6 Found off US Coast on Same Day

A Canadian-registered medical transport aircraft that disappeared over the Atlantic while flying from Bermuda to Boston has ended in tragedy, with all six people aboard now presumed dead. The US Coast Guard suspended its search for survivors on Sunday after locating a debris field linked to the aircraft off Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The aircraft, a Gulfstream G100 operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, was carrying four Canadian crew members and two Bermudian nationals. The four crew members included two pilots and two medical staff, while the passengers were a patient and a family escort. Latitude Air Ambulance later said it was facing the “heartbreaking reality” that everyone aboard had died.

Flight From Bermuda to Boston

The aircraft departed L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda late Friday night, October 2, on a medical transfer flight to Boston Logan International Airport. Flight-tracking information showed it leaving Bermuda shortly after 11.40pm local time.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lost contact with the aircraft in the early hours of Saturday, October 3. The plane had been flying toward Massachusetts when the emergency unfolded. The FAA subsequently issued a search-and-rescue alert, prompting the Coast Guard and other agencies to begin an extensive operation.

Pilot Reported Electrical Problems

Air traffic control recordings indicate that the pilot reported an electrical problem shortly before communication was lost. A controller was heard asking whether the crew was “coming in blind” and whether they were declaring an emergency.

Preliminary flight-tracking information also indicated a dramatic descent. The aircraft had been cruising at around 24,000 feet before dropping thousands of feet within a short period. Reports based on flight data said the aircraft descended roughly 13,000–14,000 feet in about two minutes. The exact cause of the descent and crash has not yet been established.

Coast Guard Finds Debris Field

Search teams deployed aircraft, helicopters, boats and cutters to an area south of Nantucket. The Coast Guard and partner agencies searched thousands of square miles of ocean before finding debris associated with the missing aircraft.

The debris field was located around 20 miles south of Nantucket, in waters approximately 80 to 90 feet deep. Sonar-equipped vessels were subsequently brought in to search the seabed and look for additional wreckage and the aircraft's flight recorders.

Six People Presumed Dead

After an extensive search covering more than 4,400 square miles, the Coast Guard suspended its search for survivors. Latitude Air Ambulance confirmed that its four crew members, the patient and the patient's family escort were presumed dead. Authorities have notified the next of kin.

Investigators will now focus on determining what caused the medical jet to lose communication, descend rapidly and crash into the Atlantic. The recovery of additional wreckage and flight-recording equipment could help establish the sequence of events leading to the accident.