Coast Guard Confirms Debris Field From Vanished Air Ambulance Off Nantucket, Six Still Unaccounted For

Since the FAA lost contact with the air ambulance jet early Saturday, Oct. 3, the search has shifted from a missing-aircraft alert to confirmed wreckage recovery. The U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday night it located a debris field off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and confirmed it belongs to the Gulfstream G100 that disappeared en route from Bermuda to Boston.

None of the six people aboard have been found. The Coast Guard said search and rescue operations continued overnight and was scheduled to hold a news conference Sunday morning, according to Fox News.

Four Canadian crew members and two Bermudian nationals were on the flight, the Coast Guard said. Next of kin have been notified, according to NPR. The jet, tail number C-GRJP, is registered to Latitude Air Ambulance, an Ontario-based medical transport company.

What the flight data shows

FlightAware data cited by CBS News shows the jet departed Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport at 11:41 p.m. ET Friday and dropped from roughly 24,000 feet to 11,000 feet before contact was lost. Breitbart, citing the New York Post, put the drop at 23,500 feet to 11,000 feet in just three minutes, with a final radar ping around 1:23 a.m., minutes before the plane was due to land at Boston Logan. NPR described the descent differently, saying flight data showed the jet dropped at least 9,000 feet over two minutes, leveled off for several more minutes, then disappeared. The FAA issued a Search and Rescue Alert Notice around 1:20 a.m. Saturday.

Air traffic control audio reviewed by multiple outlets, including the Epoch Times and Gulf News, captured the pilot reporting electrical problems and declaring an emergency as the jet approached the Massachusetts coast. A controller is heard asking, "Roger, you said you're coming in blind. Is that what you said?" NPR reported that a fire rescue dispatcher, in audio reviewed by The Boston Globe, told emergency crews to prepare for the plane's arrival, warning it was 15 minutes out, suffering electrical issues, and had lost both radio and radar contact.

Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general at the U.S. Department of Transportation and now an aviation attorney, told Gulf News the aircraft may have lost navigational instruments as a storm moved across its flight path. She said losing instruments mid-storm can leave pilots disoriented and unable to tell whether the plane is climbing, turning or descending. The National Transportation Safety Board told Fox News and Gulf News it is still gathering information and has not said whether it will formally investigate.

Company statement predates the debris find

Before the debris field was confirmed, Clarence Togeretz, Latitude Air Ambulance's director of flight operations, told NBC News the company gets "rather concerned" when a crew doesn't report in on time, but added that "optimistically and positively, that doesn't mean that the worst has happened." That comment, carried by Breitbart, reflects the uncertainty of Saturday morning's reporting cycle. The debris confirmation later that night moved the situation into a different phase, though the Coast Guard has not said whether any remains or survivors have been recovered.

NPR noted Latitude Air Ambulance's own website describes the Ontario-based company as having run thousands of repatriation missions since 2009 with what it calls "a flawless safety record," and says its aircraft carry two pilots, a medical crew, a stretcher, and full ICU equipment. The Epoch Times reported the company's EURAMI accreditation listing shows a five-aircraft fleet, three of them Astra SPX or G100 jets configured for intensive care transport.

Official reaction

Canadian Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said Ottawa is "closely monitoring the situation" and working with authorities on the search, according to CBS News and the Epoch Times. Bermuda Premier David Burt said his government has been in contact with the families of those aboard and that "we are praying that all six people will be found safe." The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Boston Logan, said its thoughts are with those on board and their loved ones.

The Coast Guard said its crews covered 1,644 square miles over roughly 27 hours before locating the debris, deploying an HC-144 Ocean Sentry, an HC-130 Hercules, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, a 47-foot motor lifeboat and the fast response cutter William Sparling, which was expected to continue searching through Saturday night. Whether any of the six people aboard are recovered, and whether the NTSB opens a formal investigation into the reported electrical failure, remain open questions heading into Sunday's Coast Guard briefing.