Update, October 5: The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for six people aboard a medical transport aircraft that crashed off Nantucket, Massachusetts. Four Canadian crew members and two Bermudian citizens were traveling from Bermuda to Boston.
Latitude Air Ambulance said the four members of its team, the patient and the patient’s family escort are presumed dead following the end of the search-and-rescue phase. The company said it will work with U.S. and Canadian investigators on recovery efforts and determining why the Gulfstream aircraft crashed.
The Canadian-registered Gulfstream G100 carried four Canadian crew members and two Bermudian nationals, according to the Coast Guard and the Associated Press. Those aboard included two pilots, two medical personnel, a patient and a relative.
What authorities have confirmed
The Federal Aviation Administration alerted the Coast Guard after air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft early Saturday. The flight was operated by Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance and was expected to arrive at Boston Logan International Airport.
The Coast Guard said crews confirmed that the debris was associated with the missing aircraft. By Sunday morning, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, boats and cutters had covered about 2,840 square miles during roughly 53 hours, according to Coast Guard officials cited by the Associated Press. Crews later suspended the active search after using aircraft and vessels across the search area. Recovery work and the accident investigation are continuing.
Emergency reported before contact was lost
Air-traffic-control audio reviewed by news organizations indicates the pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft descending rapidly before contact ended. Those details do not establish why the aircraft disappeared, and investigators have not announced a cause.
AP reported that the National Transportation Safety Board was gathering information but had not confirmed a formal investigation at the time of publication. Any determination about mechanical failure, weather, crew actions or another cause will require evidence from the aircraft, flight records and official investigators.
Search suspended; investigation ahead
The six people had not been recovered when the search was suspended. The debris discovery established that the aircraft went down, but investigators have not determined the cause. The National Transportation Safety Board, Transportation Safety Board of Canada and other authorities are expected to coordinate on the investigation.
AskNovus will update this report if authorities announce recoveries, preliminary findings or a change in the official passenger count. More verified national developments are available in U.S. News and World News.
Sources
- Reuters search-suspension update, October 5, 2026.
- Associated Press, October 3, 2026; updated October 4.
- Associated Press search update, October 4, 2026.
- ABC News / Good Morning America, October 4, 2026.
- UPI, October 4, 2026.
Featured image: E Vos via Unsplash; an Irish Coast Guard training exercise, used illustratively.