Search continues for six aboard Ontario air ambulance lost off Massachusetts coast

A Gulfstream G100 jet carrying four Canadians and two Bermudian nationals disappeared early Saturday off the Massachusetts coast, and the U.S. Coast Guard is searching a debris field located in the area.

The aircraft, registered to Latitude Air Ambulance in Hamilton, Ontario, departed Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport at 11:41 p.m. Friday and was scheduled to land at Boston Logan International Airport around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. The FAA notified the Coast Guard of lost contact at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday. The debris field was found off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the Coast Guard confirmed it was associated with the aircraft.

The six people aboard included two pilots and two medical workers from Canada, plus one patient and one patient's relative. An air traffic controller at New York control centre spoke with the pilots shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Audio recordings show the controller asking, "Roger, you said you're coming in blind. Is that what you said?" and later, "You're coming in a little weak. I didn't hear your response if you were declaring an emergency or not." The pilots were not heard in the recordings, and the controller tried repeatedly to reach the jet without apparent response.

As of Sunday, the Coast Guard had searched over 4,250 square kilometres about 27 hours into the operation. Rear Admiral Matthew W. Lake told reporters Sunday, "Our search remains ongoing," and added, "My thoughts and those of every Coast Guard crew member are with the families on that aircraft." The Coast Guard has not speculated on the cause and had not located the black box as of Sunday. Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, boats and cutters are involved in the search, working with the New York National Guard's Air Rescue Wing and Massachusetts authorities.

Jean Houde, a retired Royal Canadian Air Force search-and-rescue mission co-ordinator, said that authorities consider three factors before suspending a search: whether the area where people could be located has been adequately covered, whether all available leads have been investigated, and whether there's still a reasonable probability of survival. Houde noted that the pilots broadcast some kind of distress, though the content is unknown.