Six presumed dead after medical jet crashes off Nantucket

Six people aboard a medical transport jet that disappeared while flying from Bermuda to Boston are presumed dead after the U.S. Coast Guard ended its search off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Sunday.

Search teams found debris confirmed to be from the Gulfstream G100, operated by Canada-based Latitude Air Ambulance. The aircraft carried two pilots, two medical staff, a patient and a relative accompanying the patient. The four crew members were Canadian and the two passengers were Bermudian.

“Given the information shared by authorities and the conclusion of the search-and-rescue phase, we must now face the heartbreaking reality that the four members of our Latitude team, our patient and the patient’s family escort, who were aboard Heartbeat 104, are presumed to have died,” Latitude said in a statement Sunday.

“Suspending a search is not an easy decision,” Rear Admiral Matthew Lake, commander of the Coast Guard’s Northeast District, said in a statement. Search teams covered 4,445 miles (7,150km) by air and sea over about 66 hours, Al Jazeera reported. Lake said the water around the debris was about 80 to 90 feet (24 to 27 metres) deep.

The jet left Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 11:40 p.m. Friday and was due at Boston Logan International Airport at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, according to FlightAware data cited by the BBC. The Federal Aviation Administration lost contact with it shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, the BBC reported. Al Jazeera reported that the FAA alerted the Coast Guard at about 2 a.m.

FlightAware tracking showed the aircraft descending from about 24,000 feet (7,300 metres) to 11,000 feet (3,300 metres) before communications went dark, according to the BBC. Radio transmissions also indicated difficulty communicating with the pilot, the BBC reported, citing a Boston Globe account of recordings provided by LiveATC.net.

“You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?” an air traffic controller asked. “Are you declaring an emergency, or no?” The pilot’s reply was inaudible. The controller later confirmed that the pilot had declared an emergency, according to the BBC’s account. An area fire dispatcher asked crews to prepare for a plane with an “electrical issue” and later said “the aircraft has lost radio and radar,” the BBC reported.

Authorities have not determined what caused the crash. Latitude said it would cooperate with recovery efforts and investigations. “Determining the circumstances and cause of an aviation accident is a careful and methodical process, and we will not speculate about what occurred,” the company said.

“This is an unimaginable loss for our Latitude family and for everyone who loved the six people aboard Heartbeat 104,” Latitude President Peter Byl said. He said the company was focused on supporting the families and its staff while assisting authorities.