An air ambulance carrying six people from Bermuda to Boston, United States, may have been “coming in blind” with electrical problems when a storm loomed ahead of it early on Saturday, shortly before it vanished in the waters off Nantucket.
The US Coast Guard said that searchers found a "debris field" off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, AP reported.
According to air traffic control audio posted by LiveATC.net, the pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as the flight approached the coast.
Deep Dive
What caused the Gulfstream G100 air ambulance to declare an emergency before it vanished?
How did the Gulfstream G100's altitude change before it went missing?
What is being done to locate the missing Gulfstream G100 air ambulance?
“Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is that what you said?” a controller can be heard asking the pilot.
The pilot's transmission could not be heard well in the recording. The controller later confirmed the pilot was declaring an emergency just before losing contact with the plane, the Associated Press reported.
{{/usCountry}}The pilot's transmission could not be heard well in the recording. The controller later confirmed the pilot was declaring an emergency just before losing contact with the plane, the Associated Press reported.
{{/usCountry}}The Canadian-registered air ambulance jet had four crew members and two passengers aboard when it departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport overnight for the flight to Massachusetts, according to a statement from the Bermuda airport's operator, Skyport.
What may have happened
Mary Schiavo, a former Inspector General of the US Transportation Department, thinks the plane may have lost its navigational instruments just as a storm moved across its path on radar.
The plane also descended sharply from its cruising altitude of around 24,000 feet to around 10,000 feet, according to preliminary data from flight tracking site FlightRadar24.
“Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm. It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind,” said Schiavo, who is an aviation attorney. “It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc. Spatial orientation hits pretty quickly,” Schiavo was quoted by AP as saying.
Search on
The US Coast Guard said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the Gulfstream G100 had lost contact very early on Saturday morning.
The search for the jet included crews in the air and on the water, the Coast Guard said.
Four of the six people on board the flight were Canadian nationals, the country’s minister of transport, Steven MacKinnon, said on X, adding that Transport Canada is closely monitoring and working with authorities on search and rescue efforts.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was gathering information about the situation on Saturday, but did not immediately say whether it would investigate.