Medical transport plane with 6 on board missing off Nantucket
Senior Digital Editor/Producer, WCVB.com
NANTUCKET, Mass. —
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a missing Boston-bound medical transfer plane off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, that had six people on board, officials said early Saturday.
The Gulfstream G-100 aircraft departed L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda and was traveling to Boston’s Logan International Airport.
A Massport spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft did not arrive at Logan Airport as scheduled.
“Our thoughts are with those on board and their loved ones as the search continues,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement from Skyport, the company who manages Wade International Airport, a spokesperson said that the aircraft was a Canadian-registered air ambulance that left their airport for Boston at 12:41 a.m. on Saturday.
The company said there were four crew members and two passengers on board.
“The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has advised that air traffic controllers subsequently lost contact with the aircraft off the coast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, and a search is currently underway,” the spokesperson said. “Skyport has no further information to provide at this time.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it issued a search and rescue alert for the plane at 1:20 a.m.
The FAA notified the U.S. Coast Guard that it lost contact with the plane, which is registered to Canadian-based Latitude Air Ambulance. The company confirmed that the missing plane is among its fleet.
The Coast Guard’s response includes crews from Air Station Cape Cod, a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Brant Point and the USCGC William Sparling — a fast response cutter.
WCVB will have more information when it becomes available.