Debris found off Nantucket from medical plane carrying six people

The US Coast Guard found debris off Nantucket, Massachusetts, from a medical aircraft that disappeared over the Atlantic while flying from Bermuda to Boston.

The Gulfstream G100 was carrying six people: a patient, a family member and four crew members. Their whereabouts remained unknown when the debris was located.

Aircraft lost contact over Atlantic

The plane departed Bermuda late on Saturday. Radio transmissions indicated that the aircraft reported electrical failures as it approached Nantucket.

FlightAware data showed the plane descended thousands of feet within three minutes before disappearing from radar at about 1am local time. A controller asked whether the pilot was declaring an emergency, but the response was inaudible in a recording captured by LiveATC.net.

Coast Guard continued search

Boats, aircraft and helicopters were deployed in the operation. The Coast Guard said crews searched 4,258 sq km of the area over roughly 27 hours.

The cutter William Sparling was to continue searching through the night. The patient and family member were Bermudian citizens, while the crew members were Canadian citizens; their names were not immediately released.

Bermudian government officials said they were in contact with the passengers’ families. Premier David Burt expressed support for everyone aboard and their relatives.