An air ambulance carrying six people vanished over the Atlantic early Saturday morning, and by midday the US Coast Guard was still scouring the waters off Nantucket with no trace of the aircraft. Latitude Air Ambulance flight HTT104 — a Canadian-registered Gulfstream G100, tail number C-GRJP — lost contact with air traffic controllers somewhere between Bermuda and Boston, triggering one of the largest air-and-sea rescue operations the region has seen in years.

Table of Contents

  1. The flight that never arrived
  2. The six people on board
  3. A terrifying three-minute descent
  4. The search operation
  5. What investigators still don't know
  6. Key takeaways
  7. Sources
  8. Read also

The flight that never arrived

The aircraft departed L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda shortly after midnight Saturday — about 12:41 a.m. local time, the airport's operator Skyport confirmed. It was bound for Boston Logan International Airport, due to land around 1:30 a.m. It never did.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Search and Rescue Alert for the Gulfstream around 1:20 a.m. and notified the Coast Guard's command center at approximately 2:00 a.m. that contact with the jet had been lost, The Guardian reported.

The six people on board

Six people were aboard: four crew members and two passengers. According to CBC reporting cited across the coverage, the four crew — two pilots and two medical staff — are Canadian and had flown from the company's Hamilton, Ontario base to Bermuda to collect a patient and their accompanying relative for the medical transfer back to Boston. The identities of those aboard have not been publicly released, and a source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News there were no Americans on the plane.

The aircraft is operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, a Hamilton-based company that bills its four Gulfstream G100 jets as "the longest-range dedicated medevac aircraft in North America," typically staffed by a registered nurse and a registered respiratory therapist, sometimes with a physician aboard. The missing jet's previous leg had been from Hamilton to Bermuda on Friday.

Bermuda Premier David Burt said the government had been in contact with the families and was liaising with the search coordinators: "My thoughts are with everyone on board and their families during this deeply worrying time. We are praying that all six people will be found safe."

A terrifying three-minute descent

Flight-tracking data paints an alarming picture of the jet's final minutes. ABC News reported that the aircraft plummeted from roughly 23,500 feet to 11,000 feet in just three minutes, starting around 1:04 a.m. ET — with a source telling the network officials believe it then rapidly descended another 7,500 feet before hitting the water. The last radar ping came at 1:23 a.m. ET, just minutes before the scheduled arrival in Boston.

Local outlet Cape Wide News reported that controllers lost contact at about 1:45 a.m. after the pilot reported electrical issues — an account officials have not yet confirmed. Crucially, the Coast Guard has not confirmed that the aircraft crashed, and no wreckage had been located as of late morning Saturday.

The search operation

The Coast Guard's response is sweeping: HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and MH-60 helicopters from Air Station Cape Cod, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Brant Point, and the Boston-based Fast Response Cutter USCGC William Sparling, with additional aircraft from Elizabeth City. Both air and surface crews are working the waters south of Nantucket.

The Massachusetts Port Authority confirmed the aircraft never arrived at Logan: "Our thoughts are with those on board and their loved ones as the search continues."

What investigators still don't know

Almost everything remains open: whether the aircraft crashed, attempted an emergency landing, or suffered some other aviation emergency. The FAA says it is coordinating with the Rescue Coordination Center and the Coast Guard. Six families are waiting for news, and the night flight's electrical-issues report — if confirmed — will be a central thread for investigators alongside the aircraft's maintenance history and the rapid, unexplained descent.

Key takeaways

  • A Gulfstream G100 air ambulance (C-GRJP, Latitude Air Ambulance) vanished on a Bermuda-to-Boston flight with six aboard: two pilots, two medical staff, a patient and a relative.
  • Tracking data shows a plunge from ~23,500 ft to ~11,000 ft in three minutes around 1:04 a.m. ET; last radar contact at 1:23 a.m.
  • The Coast Guard has deployed air and surface crews off Nantucket; no wreckage or crash confirmation yet.
  • No identities released; there were reportedly no Americans on board.

Sources

Read also