Paris: The US Coast Guard has ended its search for 6 people aboard a medical transport aircraft that disappeared while travelling from Bermuda to Boston, with all passengers presumed dead.
The aircraft went missing off the Massachusetts coast on October 4. Authorities later found a debris field linked to the Gulfstream G-100 near Nantucket.
The Gulfstream G-100 had departed from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 23:40 local time on October 2. Flight data from FlightAware showed that the aircraft was scheduled to reach Boston Logan International Airport.
Four Canadian nationals and 2 Bermudian nationals were aboard the aircraft. The flight had been operating as a medical transport service between Bermuda and Boston.
Image Via: William Jacobs@Pexels | Cropped by BH
The Federal Aviation Administration lost contact with the aircraft shortly on October 3. FlightAware tracking data showed a sharp fall in altitude before communication was lost. The aircraft descended from about 7,300 metres (24,000ft) to 3,300 metres (11,000ft). An air traffic controller later confirmed that the pilot had declared an emergency.
An area fire dispatcher had alerted emergency crews shortly after 01:00 EDT. Crews were asked to prepare for an aircraft reporting an electrical issue. A later update from the dispatcher stated that the aircraft had lost both radio and radar contact.
Authorities located the debris field on October 4 and confirmed that the wreckage came from the missing aircraft. The discovery led to the Coast Guard search operation being focused on the area off Nantucket.
The Coast Guard later announced the end of the search for survivors. With all 6 people aboard presumed dead, authorities are continuing to assess the circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s disappearance.
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