Search suspended for 6 people on missing medical flight from Bermuda to
Boston
[October 05, 2026]
By JOHN RABY
Authorities on Sunday suspended the search off the Massachusetts coast
for six people on an air ambulance that disappeared during a flight from
Bermuda to Boston.
The U.S. Coast Guard said authorities searched more than 4,400 miles
(7,081 kilometers) over a span of 66 hours for the four Canadians and
two people from Bermuda who were on board.
“Suspending a search is not an easy decision,” Rear Adm. Matthew Lake,
commander of the Coast Guard's northeast district, said in a statement.
“We express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones
affected by the tragedy and our gratitude for our partner agencies who
helped support search efforts.”
The Federal Aviation Administration contacted the Coast Guard at 2 a.m.
Saturday that it had lost contact with the Gulfstream G100 carrying six
people over the Atlantic Ocean. Searchers later Saturday found a “debris
field” off the coast of Nantucket, Lake had said at a news conference on
Sunday.
Coast Guard crews along with the New York National Guard’s Air Rescue
Wing and Massachusetts authorities searched a vast area using fixed-wing
aircraft, helicopters, boats and cutters.
The depth of the water around the debris field was 80 to 90 feet (about
24 to 27 meters).
The Canadian-registered air ambulance jet had four crew members and two
passengers aboard when it departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International
Airport for the nighttime flight to Massachusetts, according to a
statement from the Bermuda airport’s operator, Skyport.
Air traffic audio indicates that the plane may have been “coming in
blind” when a storm loomed ahead shortly before it vanished.
[to top of second column]
|
A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is seen in New York on May 21, 2025. (AP
Photo/Richard Drew, File)
The pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as
the jet approached the coast, according to air traffic control audio
posted by LiveATC.net. “Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is
that what you said?” a controller can be heard asking the pilot.
That makes Mary Schiavo, who is a former Inspector General of the
Transportation Department, think the plane may have lost its
navigational instruments just as a storm moved across its path on
radar. The plane also descended sharply from its cruising altitude
of around 24,000 feet to around 10,000 feet, according to
preliminary data from flight tracking site FlightRadar24.
“Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this
big storm. It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments
and be flying blind,” said Schiavo, who is an aviation attorney.
“It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning,
climbing, descending, etc.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
