A medical flight bound for Boston vanished over the Atlantic early Saturday morning, leaving six people on board unaccounted for.
The aircraft—a Gulfstream G‑100 leased by Latitude Air Ambulances—left Norman Manley Airport in Bermuda at 23:40 (local time) with a scheduled arrival at Logan International Airport at 1:30 EDT. According to FlightAware data, the aircraft experienced a sudden drop from 7,300 m (24,000 ft) to 3,300 m (11,000 ft) before communications stopped at roughly 1:00 am (6:00 GMT).
The Federal Aviation Administration notified the BBC and issued a search‑and‑rescue notice immediately after the loss of contact. Emergency crews from the US Coast Guard’s Northeast District are conducting a combined air and water search in a broad area south of Nantucket, the island off the Massachusetts coast where the plane is believed to have gone down.
Latitude Air Ambulances said it was cooperating with investigators and had no information on the loss of the aircraft. To date, no debris or flight data recorders have been recovered, leaving the status of the six occupants unknown.
Authorities are looking into whether a mechanical failure, extreme weather, or other factor may have caused the sudden descent. Rescue crews are urging anyone with possible sightings or information to contact the nearest Coast Guard station.
This incident highlights ongoing concerns about the safety of offshore medical transport operations and has prompted calls for clearer safety protocols for trans‑Atlantic flights carrying critical cargo and patients.
