Medical air ambulance disappears near Nantucket with six aboard

A Canada-registered Gulfstream G-100 air ambulance carrying six people lost contact with the Federal Aviation Administration about an hour and a half after departing Bermuda for Boston, authorities said. The aircraft, operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, took off from L.F. Wade International Airport around 11:40 p.m. ET on Friday and was scheduled to land at Logan International Airport near 1:30 a.m. local time.

The FAA issued a Search and Rescue Alert after the plane disappeared from radar at roughly 1 a.m. near Nantucket. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Northeast District deployed an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft, an HC-130 Hercules, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, a 47-foot motor lifeboat and the Sentinel-class cutter William Sparling in the ongoing operation.

Four of the occupants were Canadian, according to Transport Minister Steve MacKinnon, who expressed sympathy for the families and said officials were monitoring the situation closely. Bermuda Premier David Burt said the government had been in contact with relatives and thanked the rescue crews for their efforts.