US Coast Guard finds debris from missing medical aircraft off Nantucket

The US Coast Guard said late on Saturday it found debris from a medical transport aircraft off the shore of Massachusetts' Nantucket island and was searching for six people who were on board.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the Coast Guard early on Saturday that it had lost contact with a Gulfstream jet traveling from Bermuda to Boston. Several hours later, the Coast Guard said in a statement that it "located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft."

Four Canadians were on the plane, Canadian Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon said on X.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and are working with the relevant authorities as search and rescue efforts continue," he wrote.

The other two passengers were Bermudian nationals, the Coast Guard said. Searches will continue throughout the night near Nantucket, an island community south of mainland Massachusetts, they said.

The aircraft, registered to Latitude Air Ambulance, departed Bermuda at 12:41 a.m. on Saturday(0301 GMT), according to data from flight tracking website FlightAware. The plane was flying at 24,000 feet (7,300 metres) for much of the flight before descending 13,000 feet in about two minutes shortly before flight controllers lost contact, data showed.

Local TV station Boston 25 posted an audio clip from Boston Logan International Airport in which an air traffic controller can be heard asking the Gulfstream pilot, "You said you're coming in blind? Is that what you said?"

The controller then asked whether the plane was declaring an emergency. No response was heard.

Latitude is based in Ontario, Canada, and provides medical evacuation services. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Bermuda government is in contact with US authorities and the families of the passengers, Bermuda Premier David Burt wrote in a statement posted on Instagram.

"We are praying that all six people will be found safe," he wrote.