In 60 seconds: A Latitude Air Ambulance Gulfstream G100 flying from Bermuda to Boston vanished early Saturday with six people aboard after a terrifying plunge and a pilot's emergency call. The Coast Guard has found a debris field 20 miles south of Nantucket and is still running an active search-and-rescue operation.
- A Canadian air ambulance jet (Gulfstream G100, tail C-GRJP) disappeared early Saturday on a Bermuda-to-Boston flight carrying two pilots, two medical staff, a patient and the patient's relative.
- Tracking data shows it plunged from 24,000 feet to about 11,000 feet before contact was lost; the pilot declared an emergency and told air traffic control he was "coming in blind."
- The Coast Guard has confirmed a debris field 20 miles south of Nantucket in 80–90 feet of water; the cutter William Sparling, helicopters and search planes are working the area.
- No survivors have been reported — and no deaths have been confirmed. Officials insist this is still a search-and-rescue case. This is a developing story — updates to follow.
A medical jet built to save lives doesn't just vanish. But that's what happened in the small hours of Saturday morning off Nantucket — and six families are still waiting for the phone to ring. This is a developing story — updates to follow.
What happened
At 12:41 a.m. Saturday, an air ambulance run by Latitude Air Ambulance of Ontario, Canada, lifted off from Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport bound for Boston Logan — a routine two-hour medevac hop. Six souls aboard the Gulfstream G100 (tail number C-GRJP): two Canadian pilots, two Canadian medical workers, and two Bermudians — a patient and the patient's relative.
Latitude boasts a "flawless safety record" going back to 2009, with thousands of missions in ICU-equipped jets. Operations manager Clarence Togeretz said this was the first time the company had ever lost contact with an aircraft: "We're praying for a safe outcome." The FAA issued a search-and-rescue alert at about 1:20 a.m.; at roughly 2 a.m. it notified the Coast Guard.
Latest verified facts
The plunge. FlightAware tracking shows the jet cruising near 24,000 feet before dropping to about 11,000 feet — roughly 13,000 feet — in just minutes; NPR's account says it fell at least 9,000 feet, leveled off, then went silent. Either way: a sudden, catastrophic drop.
The final radio calls. Audio posted by LiveATC.net captures the pilot reporting electrical problems and declaring an emergency. A controller is heard asking: "Roger, you said you're coming in blind. Is that what you said?" — then asked whether the plane was declaring an emergency. The pilot's reply was inaudible, but the controller later confirmed one had been declared. The Boston Globe reports a fire rescue dispatcher warned crews the plane was 15 minutes out with radio and radar gone. It never arrived.
The search. Late Saturday the Coast Guard confirmed a debris field about 20 miles south of Nantucket in just 80 to 90 feet of water. By Sunday midday, crews had covered roughly 2,840 square miles over about 53 hours. "This is an ongoing search and rescue case," said Lt. Commander Kastriot Kastrati, the Coast Guard's search and rescue mission coordinator. "Right now we're really just focused on finding the people." The NTSB is gathering information but hasn't announced a formal investigation; next of kin of the four Canadians and two Bermudians aboard have been notified.
Why it matters
Air ambulances are lifelines for the moment the nearest hospital isn't good enough. When a company with a spotless 17-year record loses its first aircraft, it raises hard questions about electrical redundancy on older business-jet airframes.
Honestly, it's the sequence pilots dread: night, electrical failure, and a storm cell reportedly in the area as the jet went blind. A former U.S. transportation official told reporters that losing your instruments in a storm at night is a fast track to spatial disorientation — you stop knowing which way is up. That's one expert's read, not a finding. And it should worry regulators: this is the second U.S. coastal medevac disaster in days, after the Catalina helicopter went down.
Related coverage:
- 'One Outstanding': 2 Dead, 1 Missing After a Medevac Helicopter Plunges Into the Ocean Off Catalina
- 'She Was Strapped to a Gurney': The Agonizing Search for the Missing Mother in the Catalina Helicopter Crash
Impact on the USA and the world
The Bermuda–Boston corridor is a well-worn path for patients needing New England's specialist hospitals, and Latitude flies medevac missions worldwide. The search has pulled the cutter William Sparling, helicopters and planes into a major multi-day Northeast rescue effort.
It's also a three-country effort: Canada (the operator and four crew), Bermuda (the two passengers) and the U.S. (the search and likely investigation). If the electrical failure proves systemic, expect pressure on the FAA to scrutinize the G100 fleet — including those in American charter service.
What happens next
In the short term, the sonar survey is everything: at 80 to 90 feet, recovery — and possibly the flight data recorder — could come quickly. Expect the next Coast Guard briefing to focus on what the sonar finds, and for the NTSB to formally take the investigation once wreckage is recovered.
Longer term, two questions will dominate: what failed first in the electrical sequence — and why a crew that declared an emergency couldn't stabilize. A flawless record since 2009 is exactly the kind of streak investigators dissect when it ends. Watch for the six names, that night's storm data, and a possible joint Transport Canada–FAA review of the operator.
And if you see anyone treating a debris field as a final answer — push back. This is still a rescue operation. Until the water gives up its answers, six families are waiting by the phone — and the Atlantic owes them the truth.