A medical evacuation jet carrying a Bermudian patient and family member, along with four Canadian crew members, remained missing Saturday evening after declaring an emergency and losing contact with air traffic control while flying from Bermuda to Boston, prompting a major U.S. Coast Guard search in waters off Nantucket.
The Government of Bermuda confirmed the disappearance Saturday and said it had contacted the families of those aboard while remaining in communication with overseas authorities coordinating the search.
“My thoughts are with everyone on board and their families during this deeply worrying time,” Premier David Burt said. He added that Bermuda was praying for all six people to be found safely and thanked search-and-rescue crews for their continuing efforts.
The missing aircraft is a Canadian-registered Gulfstream G100, tail number C-GRJP, operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, a medical transportation company based in Hamilton, Ontario.
Skyport, which operates Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport, said the aircraft departed for Boston at approximately 12:41 a.m. Saturday Bermuda time, carrying four crew members and two passengers. Because Bermuda is one hour ahead of Boston at this time of year, the departure was approximately 11:41 p.m. Friday in Massachusetts.
Latitude Air Ambulance later identified the four crew members as two pilots and two medical personnel, all Canadian. The other two people aboard were a patient and family member, both Bermudian.
The aircraft was operating a medical evacuation mission to Boston, where the patient was being transported for care.
The flight, identified by the operational call sign HTT104 and the radio call sign “Heartbeat 104,” encountered trouble as it approached the Massachusetts coast.
Air traffic control recordings provide a partial picture of the aircraft’s final communications. In one exchange, a controller can be heard asking the crew, “Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is that what you said?”
The pilot’s response is not audible in the recording. After struggling to hear the aircraft’s increasingly weak transmissions, the controller later established that the pilot was declaring an emergency.
Controllers attempted to enlist other aircraft in locating or contacting the Gulfstream, asking pilots in the area whether they could see the aircraft on their collision-avoidance systems or establish radio contact. Those attempts were unsuccessful.
Separate emergency-radio communications indicate that Massport Fire Rescue was preparing for the jet’s arrival at Boston Logan International Airport. At approximately 1:12 a.m. Eastern Time, a dispatcher advised emergency personnel to prepare for an aircraft experiencing an “electrical issue” that was expected to arrive within roughly 10 to 15 minutes.
The dispatcher subsequently reported that the aircraft had lost both radio and radar contact. The plane never arrived at Logan.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert at approximately 1:20 a.m. Saturday Eastern Time.
Public flight-tracking data also indicated that the aircraft descended rapidly during its final tracked minutes, falling from approximately 23,500 feet to around 11,000 feet over a period of roughly three minutes. Authorities had not, as of Saturday evening, publicly determined why the descent occurred or established the cause of the aircraft’s disappearance.
The Coast Guard concentrated its search in Atlantic waters south of Nantucket. Local authorities reported activity roughly 13 nautical miles south of the island, while Nantucket police and harbor personnel also searched along the shoreline.
The operation brought together a substantial collection of air and surface assets. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod deployed an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, while an HC-130 Hercules joined the search from Air Station Elizabeth City.
On the water, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Brant Point was deployed alongside the USCGC William Sparling, a 154-foot fast response cutter based in Boston.
“The Coast Guard will continue searching and provide additional information as it becomes available,” the agency said.
Clarence Togeretz, operations manager for Latitude Air Ambulance, said the company had been tracking the flight and lost contact at approximately 1:30 a.m. as the aircraft approached Boston. When it failed to arrive, the company contacted authorities.
Togeretz said it was the first time Latitude had lost contact with one of its aircraft.
“We’re praying for a safe outcome,” he said, describing the company as attempting to handle the situation with optimism while remaining in contact with Canadian authorities.
Canadian Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon subsequently confirmed that four Canadian citizens were among those aboard. He said Canada was working with the relevant authorities as search-and-rescue efforts continued.
The flight also underscores Bermuda’s longstanding dependence on overseas medical care for treatments that cannot always be provided on the island. Earlier this year, the Bermuda government noted that advanced cancer treatment, cardiac interventions, organ transplantation and complex surgeries are among the types of specialized care that can require patients to travel overseas.
Boston has historically been a particularly important destination. Bermuda health-planning documents citing earlier utilization data found that half of the island’s overseas medical care took place along the eastern seaboard of the United States, with the Boston metropolitan area specifically identified as a major center for Bermudian patients.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday that it was gathering information about the missing aircraft, although no investigation findings had been released.
As of Saturday evening, authorities had not publicly reported locating the aircraft, wreckage or any of the six people aboard. Officials also had not released their identities, and the Bermuda government asked that the privacy of the affected families be respected while the search continued.
“We are praying that all six people will be found safe,” Burt said.
