Nantucket debris field found after air ambulance vanishes on Bermuda-Boston route

Search teams located a debris field off Nantucket after an air ambulance vanished en route from Bermuda to Boston. Air traffic audio suggesting electrical failure and blind flying has deepened concerns about what went wrong.

In Short

• The jet carried four crew members and two passengers from Bermuda
• Authorities identified those aboard as four Canadians and two Bermudians
• Air traffic control heard the pilot declare an emergency over electrical issues

Searchers found a debris field off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, from an air ambulance that went missing over the Atlantic during a flight from Bermuda to Boston, the US Coast Guard said. The Canadian-registered jet was carrying six people when it vanished early on Saturday.

The Coast Guard said those on board included four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals, and their next of kin had been informed as the search continued. It added that one of its cutters would keep searching the waters overnight and into Sunday.

Air traffic control audio indicates the medical transport may have been "coming in blind" with electrical problems shortly before it disappeared, as a storm loomed ahead. According to audio posted by LiveATC.net, the pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as the jet approached the coast.

In the recording, a controller is heard asking the pilot, "Roger, you said you're coming in blind. Is that what you said?"

Mary Schiavo, a former Inspector General of the Transportation Department, said this suggested the aircraft may have lost its navigational instruments as a storm moved across its path on radar. Preliminary data from flight tracking site FlightRadar24 also showed that the plane descended sharply from its cruising altitude of about 24,000 feet to around 10,000 feet.

"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," said Schiavo, who is now an aviation attorney. "It's very easy to get disoriented and not know if you're turning, climbing, descending, etc. Spatial orientation hits pretty quickly."

The jet had four crew members and two passengers on board when it departed Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport for the night flight to Massachusetts, according to Skyport, the operator of the Bermuda airport.

Canada's Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon said on X that Transport Canada was closely monitoring the situation and working with authorities on the search and rescue effort.

The Coast Guard said the Federal Aviation Administration had reported that the Gulfstream G100 lost contact very early on Saturday morning. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information, but did not immediately say whether it would investigate.

The search remained under way after the debris field was found, with authorities continuing efforts to trace the air ambulance that disappeared during its Bermuda-to-Boston flight.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends