Search teams located wreckage from a missing Canadian air ambulance off Massachusetts after the jet plunged more than 10,000 feet and lost radio contact, six people remain unaccounted for.
Late Saturday night, search-and-rescue crews found a debris field near Nantucket from the US-bound air ambulance that vanished over the Atlantic after leaving Bermuda. The Canadian-registered Gulfstream G100 had been carrying six people when contact was lost very early Saturday morning.
The Sun reported that the nighttime flight left Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport bound for Massachusetts, then dropped from about 24,000 feet to around 10,000 feet before disappearing from controllers.
Aboard were two Canadian pilots, two Canadian medical workers, a patient from Bermuda, and the patient’s relative. The US Coast Guard and other crews launched a massive air and sea search covering 1,644 square miles. Families have been contacted. Survival status for those on board has not been confirmed.
Shortly before the aircraft vanished, a storm loomed ahead. Air traffic control audio captured the emergency as the jet neared the coast. The pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency. Controllers pressed for clarity on the jet’s condition.
Audio posted on LiveATC.net included this exchange from an air traffic controller:
"Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is that what you said?"
The FAA said the Gulfstream G100 lost contact very early Saturday morning. Full crash cause has not been established. What is known is the sudden plunge, the electrical trouble call, the storm in the flight path, and the later discovery of wreckage off Massachusetts.
Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the Transportation Department, pointed to the altitude drop and the weather as a dangerous combination. She said instrument failure in those conditions leaves little margin.
"Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm"
Schiavo added that losing instruments while flying blind is an especially bad place to be.
"It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind."
She also described how quickly a crew can lose spatial awareness without working instruments.
"It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc."
Her assessment matches the known sequence: a steep descent, an electrical problem, a possible “coming in blind” condition, and a storm ahead. No official finding has locked in a final cause.
After crews located the debris field, the Coast Guard made clear the mission had not ended. The search for the six people continued, with surface assets staying on station.
"Crews are continuing to search for the six people who were aboard the aircraft and the Coast Guard cutter William Sparling will continue search efforts throughout the night"
That statement set the immediate priority: find the people. Wreckage confirmed the aircraft came down. It did not close the case on the passengers and crew.
Bermuda’s government confirmed the aircraft was reported missing after it lost contact with air traffic control. Premier David Burt said officials were in touch with the families and with US officials running the search.
"My thoughts are with everyone on board and their families during this deeply worrying time,"
Burt also thanked the rescue crews still working the Atlantic search area.
"We are praying that all six people will be found safe, and we thank the search and rescue crews for their continuing efforts."
The flight path ran from Bermuda toward Massachusetts across open water. When an air ambulance drops more than 10,000 feet, reports electrical failure, and then goes quiet, every minute matters. The debris find near Nantucket answered one question. It left the harder one open: where are the six people who were on that jet?
First responders are still doing the hard work at sea. The public deserves hard answers on what failed in the air, not spin, and not delay.
