Six people aboard a Gulfstream G100 air ambulance are presumed dead after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Sunday evening. The Canadian-operated aircraft, flying as Heartbeat 104, disappeared early Saturday during a medical transport flight from Bermuda to Boston. According to Reuters, the aircraft was carrying four Canadian crew members, a Bermudian patient and the patient’s family escort.
Search Moves To Recovery
Search crews said debris associated with the aircraft was located about 20 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The Coast Guard searched approximately 4,445 square miles during 66 hours of operations involving aircraft and vessels before suspending the search.
“Given the information shared by authorities and the conclusion of the search and rescue phase, we must now face the heartbreaking reality that the four members of our Latitude team, our patient and the patient’s family escort, who were aboard Heartbeat 104, are presumed to have died,” Latitude Air Ambulance said in a statement.
The company said the four crew members included two pilots and two medical personnel.
Electrical Problems Reported
The crew reported electrical problems and declared an emergency before losing contact. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft descending rapidly from about 24,000 feet to approximately 11,000 feet shortly after being handed off from New York to Boston air traffic control. Investigators have not yet determined what caused the accident.
Latitude said it expects to work with the NTSB, Transportation Safety Board of Canada and other authorities during the recovery and investigation.
20 miles south of Nantucket puts it in international waters. Per Annex 13 who would be prime for conducting the investigation?