Debris discovered as US Coast Guard searches for missing medical plane carrying six people | US News

A search has uncovered debris from a medical transport plane that was carrying six people when it disappeared over the Atlantic early Saturday during a flight from Bermuda to Boston, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

A Coast Guard statement released Saturday evening said crews searching off the coast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, “located a debris field confirmed to be from the aircraft,” described as an air ambulance.

Six passengers and crew members on board were still missing when the debris field was discovered, a coast guard spokesman said. Boats, planes and helicopters were launched after flight controllers lost contact with the air ambulance.

Air traffic controllers struggled to communicate with the flight in its final moments.

“You go in blind? Is that what you said?” » a controller asked the pilot around 12:46 a.m. “Are you declaring an emergency, or not?” »

According to a recording captured by LiveATC.net, the pilot’s response was not audible.

The air ambulance – a Gulfstream G100 – took off from Bermuda on Saturday evening, carrying a patient, a family member and a crew of four. The patient and his family member have been identified as citizens of Bermuda. The crew was identified as Canadian citizens, although the names of those on board the flight were not immediately released.

As it approached Nantucket, the plane reported electrical failures, according to radio transmissions. Data from the FlightAware website shows the plane descended several thousand feet in three minutes and disappeared from radar shortly after, around 1 a.m. local time.

The Coast Guard said Saturday evening that its cutter William Sparling would continue to search for the people aboard the air ambulance through the night.

The agency said its crews searched about 1,644 square miles (4,258 square kilometers) for the plane in about 27 hours.

“Crews continue to search for the six people who were on board the aircraft and Coastguard Cutter William Sparling will continue search efforts throughout the night.”

Bermudian government officials said they had been in contact with the passengers’ families.

“My thoughts are with all passengers and their families during this deeply worrying time,” Bermuda Premier David Burt said in a statement. “We pray that all six people will be found safe and sound and we thank the search and rescue teams for their continued efforts. »