Debris from an air ambulance that disappeared over the Atlantic while flying from Bermuda to Boston has been found off Nantucket, Massachusetts, as rescuers continue searching for the six people who were on board.
The US Coast Guard confirmed that the debris field belonged to the missing Gulfstream G100 after crews searched more than 1,600 square miles south of Nantucket. No occupants had been found by late Saturday and the search was continuing overnight.
The aircraft disappeared in the early hours of Saturday, 3 October, and never reached Boston Logan International Airport.
It had been flying from Bermuda to Massachusetts when contact was lost as it approached the US coast.
🚨🇨🇦#BREAKING | NEWS ⚠️ Update: The missing jet is a Canadian air ambulance with registration number (#CGRJP) the plane was departing from Bermuda and heading towards Boston before it went down and dropped from radar, the aircraft was carrying six people. Multiple Coast Guard aircraft are searching for the plane this morning doing grid patterns off of Nantucket. ATC was speaking with the aircraft just before it went down.
— Todd Paron🇺🇸🇬🇷🎧👽 (@tparon) October 3, 2026
Patient and relative among those on board
The aircraft, registered C-GRJP, belongs to Canadian medical transport company Latitude Air Ambulance, based in Hamilton, Ontario.
Company operations manager Clarence Togheredge told Canadian Press that the plane was carrying a patient and a member of the patient’s family.
The crew consisted of two pilots and two medical staff, all Canadian nationals, while the two passengers were Bermudian nationals.
The Coast Guard also confirmed that four Canadians and two Bermudians were on board.
Skyport, which operates Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport, said the aircraft departed at around 12.41am local time on Saturday.
Emergency declared before contact was lost
Attention has focused on the aircraft’s final communications with air traffic controllers.
According to NPR reporting carried by OPB, the pilot declared an emergency. Recorded communications indicated possible electrical problems, while a controller sought clarification over whether the aircraft was approaching without normal instrument capability.
Available flight-tracking data showed the aircraft losing at least 9,000 feet of altitude in about two minutes before briefly levelling off and then disappearing from tracking.
The data are preliminary and do not establish the cause of the incident.
Nantucket airport officials confirmed they had been informed that the aircraft had declared an emergency, while stressing that the precise circumstances remained unconfirmed.
The airport continued to operate normally, with the investigation and operational response handled by federal authorities.
Search by air, sea and along the coast
The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert at around 1.20am Massachusetts time on Saturday.
The initial search was concentrated about 13 nautical miles, or roughly 24 kilometres, south of Nantucket.
Assets deployed included an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, an HC-130 Hercules from Elizabeth City, a rescue boat from Station Brant Point and the Coast Guard cutter William Sparling.
Nantucket police and harbour personnel also searched the island’s southern coastline by vehicle.
The Coast Guard said the William Sparling would remain in the search area overnight after the debris was found. A briefing was scheduled in Boston for Sunday morning.
Authorities in contact with families
Canadian Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon confirmed that four Canadian nationals were on board and said Transport Canada was working with the relevant authorities.
The US National Transportation Safety Board had also begun gathering information about the incident.
The Bermuda government said it was in contact with the families of those on board and with authorities coordinating the search.
Premier David Burt expressed hope that all six would be found safe, thanked rescue crews and called for the families’ privacy to be respected.
