The U.S. Coast Guard has launched a search and rescue operation in the waters south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, for a Canadian air ambulance that vanished early Saturday. The flight, a Gulfstream G100 jet traveling from Bermuda to Boston, was carrying six people when it lost contact with air traffic control. According to the Coast Guard, flight data indicates the aircraft dropped at least 9,000 feet over a two-minute span, leveled off for several minutes, and then disappeared from tracking systems. Nantucket Memorial Airport confirmed that the pilot had declared an emergency prior to losing contact. Radio transmissions reviewed by The Boston Globe revealed that air traffic control asked the pilot if they were coming in blind, while a fire rescue dispatcher alerted emergency crews to prepare for an arrival involving electrical issues and a complete loss of radio and radar. In response to the disappearance, the Coast Guard deployed multiple resources, including a helicopter, two search and rescue planes, and a motor lifeboat. The missing aircraft is operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, an Ontario, Canada-based firm. The company, which has operated thousands of medical missions since 2009, states that its air ambulance fleet is staffed by two pilots alongside a medical team and equipped with full intensive care unit supplies and stretchers.
Source: npr.org
