Coast Guard Searches for Medical Plane Carrying Six Off US East Coast

The United States Coast Guard has launched an air and sea search for a medical transport aircraft carrying six people after the plane lost contact while travelling from Bermuda to Boston. The Gulfstream G100 was reported missing early Saturday after the Federal Aviation Administration alerted the Coast Guard that it had lost contact with the aircraft. Search teams were deployed to waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, where authorities believe the search should be concentrated. The Coast Guard said both aircraft and surface vessels were involved in the operation. The aircraft had departed L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda and was heading for Boston Logan International Airport when communication was lost. The plane is registered in Canada and is operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, a medical evacuation company based in Ontario. Reuters confirmed that the aircraft was being used as a medical transfer plane. Six people were aboard Six people were travelling on the aircraft when it disappeared from contact. According to Clarence Togeretz, a spokesman for Latitude Air Ambulance, the passengers and crew consisted of two pilots, two medical staff, a patient and a family member accompanying the patient. The company has not released further details about the people aboard, while officials have not disclosed their identities. The aircraft is a Gulfstream G100, with the registration C-GRJP. The Coast Guard identified the aircraft and confirmed that its current search area was off Nantucket. The plane had been operating a medical evacuation mission, a service that allows patients to be transported between healthcare facilities or returned home from another location. Latitude Air Ambulance operates medical evacuation flights from its base in Hamilton, Ontario, and uses Gulfstream G100 aircraft for long-distance medical transportation. Search operation underway The Coast Guard has deployed multiple resources as it attempts to locate the aircraft. The response includes personnel and aircraft from Air Station Cape Cod, a motor lifeboat crew from Station Brant Point on Nantucket and the USCGC William Sparling, a Coast Guard fast-response cutter. Both aerial and surface crews are searching the waters in the area where the aircraft is believed to have disappeared. The Coast Guard's Northeast District said updates would be provided as additional information becomes available. The National Transportation Safety Board has also begun gathering information about the incident, although it had not released additional findings as of the latest reports. Flight lost contact early Saturday The Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard after communication with the aircraft was lost early Saturday morning. Reports placed the loss of contact at roughly 1:20 to 2:00 a.m. local time, depending on the stage of the emergency notification being reported. The Coast Guard subsequently launched its search operation. Flight-tracking information cited by several reports indicated that the aircraft had departed Bermuda late Friday night before heading north towards Massachusetts. The aircraft did not arrive at Boston Logan International Airport as scheduled. The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan Airport, confirmed that the aircraft was expected to arrive there and expressed concern for those aboard as the search continued. No crash confirmed Authorities have not confirmed that the aircraft crashed. As of the latest available reports, the Coast Guard had not announced the discovery of the aircraft, a crash site or any of the people aboard. The search therefore remains a missing-aircraft operation rather than a confirmed crash investigation. Officials have also not provided a cause for the loss of contact. There has been no official determination about whether weather, mechanical problems, communication failure or another factor was responsible. The focus of emergency teams remains on locating the aircraft and determining the condition and whereabouts of the six people aboard. Medical evacuation mission The missing aircraft was being used for a medical transfer, making the incident particularly significant because two medical personnel, a patient and the patient's family member were reportedly aboard. Latitude Air Ambulance provides international medical transportation services, including repatriation and transfers involving patients who require specialised assistance while travelling. The company has not provided further public information about the patient's medical condition or the reason for the flight. As search crews continue operations off Nantucket, authorities are expected to provide additional information when the aircraft is located or when investigators establish more details about what happened. For now, officials are urging the public to rely on information released by the Coast Guard and other agencies involved in the operation as the search continues.