The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the Atlantic Ocean off Nantucket for a medical transport jet carrying six people after air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft early Saturday, according to the Coast Guard’s Northeast District.
The Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard at roughly 2 a.m. that it could no longer reach the plane, a Gulfstream G100 with the tail number C-GRJP. Flight-tracking data from FlightAware shows the jet departed Bermuda International Airport at 11:41 p.m. Eastern on Friday, bound for Boston.
In a post on X, the Coast Guard’s Northeast District said air and surface crews had launched to search for the aircraft and that updates would be provided as information becomes available.
While the agency has not confirmed the fate of the aircraft, its disappearance has triggered a multi-asset response stretching from Cape Cod to Nantucket.
A coordinated air and sea search
The search effort includes an HC-144 Ocean Sentry patrol plane and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter flying out of Air Station Cape Cod, along with a 47-foot motor lifeboat stationed at Brant Point on Nantucket, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard has not released the names of anyone on board or said whether a patient was among the six people. As of Saturday morning, no wreckage had been publicly reported.
Authorities have also not said what might have caused the loss of contact. The FAA’s notification came roughly two hours after the jet left Bermuda, a route that would take it over open ocean before a planned arrival in the Boston area. It was not immediately clear when the aircraft’s last confirmed position was recorded or whether it was in radar coverage at the time contact was lost.
What is known about the aircraft and its operator
The ‘C-‘ prefix on the tail number indicates the jet is Canadian-registered. According to NBC10 Boston, the aircraft belongs to Latitude Air Ambulance, a company based at Hamilton International Airport in Ontario that specializes in long-distance medical evacuations and patient repatriations.
A listing with EURAMI, a European air ambulance accreditation body, describes Latitude’s fleet as consisting of five aircraft, three of which are Astra SPX or G100 jets configured for intensive care. Those aircraft are typically outfitted to carry patients requiring advanced medical support during flight, along with medical crews.
The G100 is a twin-engine business jet originally developed in Israel, part of a lineage of light jets used for corporate travel, charter operations and specialized missions including air ambulance work.
Medical transport flights often carry patients in critical condition, meaning the stakes of any in-flight emergency can be especially high. But officials have not confirmed whether this particular flight was transporting a patient or was operating in another capacity at the time contact was lost.
Questions still unanswered
Several key details remain unclear as the search continues. The identities and nationalities of the six people aboard have not been made public. There has been no official word on whether the flight was operating as an air ambulance mission at the time, whether a patient was on board, or what the flight’s last known altitude and speed were before it vanished from contact.
Coast Guard officials have not indicated how long the search is expected to continue or whether any debris or signals have been detected in the search area. The waters off Nantucket are a busy corridor for transatlantic and East Coast aviation, but the area’s open-ocean conditions can complicate search and rescue operations.
The Coast Guard’s Northeast District said additional updates would be posted as they become available. The FAA has not issued a public statement on the loss of contact beyond its initial notification to the Coast Guard, and no cause has been suggested by any agency involved.
This remains a developing story. Anyone with information relevant to the search is encouraged to contact the U.S. Coast Guard.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/six-missing-after-medical-jet-vanishes-off-massachusetts-coast