U.S. Coast Guard Ends Search for Six After Medical Jet Crash Near Nantucket
The Coast Guard halted a 66-hour search operation after confirming debris from a Gulfstream G100 that vanished en route from Bermuda to Boston, presuming all six aboard are dead.
The United States Coast Guard announced Sunday that it has suspended the search for six people on board a medical transport jet that crashed off the coast of Massachusetts. After about 66 hours of aerial and maritime effort covering more than 4,400 miles, officials confirmed that debris recovered near Nantucket Island originated from the aircraft.
The Gulfstream G100, operating as Heartbeat 104 for Canada-based Latitude Air Ambulance, was carrying two pilots, two medical crew members, a patient and a family escort. All four crew members were Canadian, while the patient and escort were Bermudian, authorities said.
"Suspending a search is not an easy decision," Rear Admiral Matthew Lake, commander of the Coast Guard’s Northeast District, said in a statement.
Latitude Air Ambulance, which specializes in medical evacuation and repatriation flights, issued a statement expressing sorrow for the presumed loss of its staff and the passengers.
"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," the company said.
Flight-tracking data showed a steep descent in the jet’s final minutes, and air traffic controllers were unable to re-establish contact. The Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard around 2 a.m. Saturday after the aircraft disappeared while en route from Bermuda to Boston’s Logan International Airport. Lake noted that the water depth around the debris field was approximately 80 to 90 feet and offered condolences to the families of those on board.