US Coast Guard searches for missing air ambulance jet with six people onboard

The US Coast Guard is searching for an air ambulance jet with six people onboard that lost contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during a flight from Bermuda to Boston early on Saturday morning.

In a statement to the Guardian, an FAA spokesperson said that the agency issued a search-and-rescue alert notice for a Gulfstream G-100 at about 1.20am local time on Saturday.

The Canadian-registered air ambulance jet had four crew members and two passengers onboard when it departed Bermuda’s LF Wade international airport overnight for the flight to Massachusetts, according to a statement from the Bermuda airport’s operator, Skyport, obtained by the Associated Press.

NBC News reported that the plane was carrying out a medical evacuation in Bermuda, citing a statement from Clarence Togeretz, the director of flight operations at Latitude Air Ambulance, the aircraft’s operator.

“We always get rather concerned when our crew doesn’t report to us in a timely manner,” he told NBC News. “But I will say that again, optimistically and positively, that doesn’t mean that the worst has happened.”

NBC also reported that the Massachusetts port authority, which operates Boston Logan international airport, said the aircraft did not arrive as scheduled. A port authority spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with those onboard and their loved ones as the search continues.”

The FAA is coordinating with the Rescue Coordination Center and the US Coast Guard to locate the aircraft.

The search area as of Saturday morning was off the coast of the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the coast guard said in a statement posted to X.

Air and surface crews have launched in search of the aircraft, the statement added.

Citing a source with knowledge of the investigation, ABC News reported there were no Americans onboard the plane, though the identities of those onboard were not immediately released.

Officials believe the plane rapidly descended 7,500ft before hitting the water, according to the outlet’s source.