The US Coast Guard is suspending its search for a medical transfer plane that mysteriously disappeared off Nantucket over the weekend, just after the agency discovered debris from the craft floating in the ocean near the Massachusetts island.
The Coast Guard made the difficult call Sunday evening, more than 40 hours after the Gulfstream G100 twinjet, carrying six passengers from Bermuda, lost contact with the Federal Aviation Administration before it was scheduled to land in Boston around 1:30 a.m.
“Suspending a search is not an easy decision,” Rear Adm. Matthew Lake, Commander of the 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,” he continued.
Six people were on board — four Canadians, including two medics and two pilots, as well as a Bermudian patient and their relative, the Coast Guard and Latitude Air Ambulance, the missing plane’s owner said.
The air ambulance, which was making its way from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport to Boston Logan International Airport, disappeared off FAA radar just before its scheduled landing, officials said.
The missing craft reportedly plummeted from 24,000 feet to 11,000 feet in just three minutes, not long before it vanished, according to FlightAware data.
Chilling audio captured the plane’s last muffled communications with air traffic controllers, appearing to possibly declare an emergency before abruptly losing communication with the controller.
The Coast Guard sifted through debris floating in the ocean to identify the plane Saturday night, before calling off the search the following day.
Officials said the missing passengers’ next of kin have been notified of the end of the search, and that an investigation into what happened to the plane will follow.
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