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The US Coast Guard deployed aircraft and vessels on October 3 to search waters off Nantucket for a Gulfstream G-100 medical transport jet that disappeared early Saturday while en route from Bermuda to Boston with six people on board. The Federal Aviation Administration lost radar and radio contact with the aircraft around 2 a.m. local time and issued a search and rescue alert shortly afterward according to the Coast Guard’s Northeast District. Flight data indicated the plane had dropped from approximately 24 000 feet to 11 000 feet before communications ceased the Federal Aviation Administration told multiple outlets including ABC News. No wreckage had been located as of mid-morning and officials had released no details on possible causes.
The jet operated by Latitude Air Ambulance left L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda at about 11 40 p.m. on Friday and had been scheduled to arrive at Boston Logan International Airport around 1 30 a.m. a Massachusetts Port Authority spokesperson confirmed to the Boston Globe. The Canadian-registered aircraft with tail number C-GRJP was conducting a medical evacuation flight according to the company’s director of flight operations who spoke with NBC News. A source familiar with the investigation told ABC News that none of those aboard were American citizens though authorities have not publicly identified the four crew members or two passengers.
Latitude Air Ambulance a Hamilton Ontario-based provider founded in 2009 specializes in long-range medical repatriations organ transfers and intensive care transports across more than 130 countries a company profile on its website and in Canadian Aviation News reports shows. The firm which holds EURAMI accreditation and ARGUS certification for safety standards operates a fleet that includes four Gulfstream G-100 jets along with other aircraft and had completed more than 7 000 patient transfers by 2026 according to its corporate announcements. Clarence Togeretz a Latitude spokesman told The New York Times the company had immediately contacted search and rescue services but declined to provide additional details on the flight.
Search efforts coordinated by the Coast Guard included an HC-144 fixed-wing aircraft and an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod as well as a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Brant Point on Nantucket and the fast response cutter USCGC William Sparling the agency detailed in updates shared with Boston 25 News and other local outlets. The operation focused on an area approximately 70 miles southeast of Nantucket where the plane last transmitted data according to Coast Guard statements. As of late morning on October 3 no debris or signals had been reported and the search continued with additional resources on standby the Northeast District said.
Airport officials at both ends of the intended route expressed concern for those involved. A Skyport spokesperson at Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport which manages the facility told WCVB that the plane had departed with four crew and two passengers before contact was lost off Nantucket. Jennifer Mehigan a Massachusetts Port Authority spokeswoman stated to the Boston Globe “Our thoughts are with those on board and their loved ones as the search continues.” The incident marks a rare loss of a medically configured business jet for the accredited operator which logged more than 550 missions in 2022 alone per its operational summaries.
