Six aboard Ontario air ambulance presumed dead after flight vanishes off Massachusetts coast

Six people aboard a Hamilton-based air ambulance are presumed dead after the aircraft lost contact early Saturday morning while flying from Bermuda to Boston. The Gulfstream G100 jet, operated by Latitude Air Ambulance and designated Heartbeat 104 Medevac, disappeared around 1:30 a.m. Those aboard included four Latitude crew members—two Canadian pilots and two Canadian medical workers—one patient and one family escort.

The U.S. Coast Guard initiated search-and-rescue operations and located a debris field roughly southeast of Boston on Saturday, which was confirmed to belong to the missing aircraft. Search crews covered a substantial area before the Coast Guard transitioned to recovery efforts and concluded active search operations.

Air traffic control audio obtained by Global News captured a controller attempting to reach the aircraft as it descended, shortly before losing contact. "If you can hear me, at your discretion, please send me anything … please call now … I understand that you have declared an emergency," the controller said. When asked to check for the missing flight, a pilot of a commercial aircraft in the area responded, "No sir, I don't see anything."

Latitude Air Ambulance, based in Hamilton, operates four Gulfstream G100 jets and provides medical evacuation and repatriation services to global insurance companies, governments and other organizations. The company issued a statement declaring the six people presumed dead. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Matthew Lake said investigators would not speculate on what led to the operational failure.