US Coast Guard stops search for missing small plane

The US Coast Guard has suspended the search for the six passengers of a small plane that went missing off the east coast of the US. Contact with the machine was lost on Saturday at 2 a.m. (local time). Debris was later discovered, which the Coast Guard attributed to the aircraft.

The search for the four passengers from Canada and the two from Bermuda was unsuccessful. According to official information, it stretched over a good 7,000 kilometers over a period of 66 hours.

"Ceasing a search is never an easy decision," said Matthew Lake, chief of the U.S. Coast Guard's Northeast District. “Our deepest condolences go out to all the families and loved ones affected by this tragedy.” He also thanked all search parties, including those outside the coast guard.

The exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear

According to data from the flight service Flightradar24, the Gulfstream G100 aircraft with the aircraft registration C-GRJP took off from Bermuda at 12:41 a.m. After a good hour, the plane's signal stopped and the recording ended abruptly over the ocean. The plane was supposed to fly to Boston in the US state of Massachusetts.

The aircraft is registered to Latitude Air Ambulance, a company based in Hamilton, Canada, that specializes in medical transport.

A statement from Nantucket Airport - one of the closest airports on the coast to the plane's last known location - said that the plane had declared an emergency before contact was lost. “However, the exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear,” says the letter, which is available to the German Press Agency.