The U.S. Coast Guard says it has deployed a helicopter, like this one photographed in July, along with two search and rescue planes and a motor lifeboat to search for the plane that went missing Saturday off the coast of Massachusetts.
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
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Heather Diehl/Getty Images
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching waters south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, for a Canadian air ambulance that went missing early Saturday while traveling from Bermuda to Boston.
The Gulfstream G100 was believed to have six people on board when it lost contact with air traffic control, according to the Coast Guard.
Flight data shows the plane fell at least 9,000 feet in two minutes, then leveled off for several more minutes, before disappearing. The pilot declared an emergency, according to Nantucket Memorial Airport. During one exchange, air traffic control asked the air ambulance pilot: “Are you arriving blind?”
A fire dispatcher warned emergency crews to prepare for arriving planes. She said she was 15 minutes away, experiencing electrical issues and losing radio and radar, according to audio on Broadcastify and reviewed by The Boston Globee.
The Coast Guard deployed two search and rescue planes as well as a helicopter and a motor rescue boat.
The aircraft is operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, based in Ontario, Canada. The company’s website says it has conducted thousands of missions since 2009 to return patients and their loved ones to their families back home. The company claims “a flawless safety record.”
The website says the air ambulances are staffed by two pilots and a medical team and include a stretcher and full medical equipment and supplies for intensive care.
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