Six people aboard a medical transport jet traveling from Bermuda to Boston are presumed dead after the aircraft reported electrical problems, plunged thousands of feet and disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean south of Nantucket, with the U.S. Coast Guard later locating wreckage from the plane.

The Gulfstream G100, operated by Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance and flying as Heartbeat 104, was carrying a Bermudian patient and her son, along with two Canadian pilots and two Canadian medical crew members, when it went down early Saturday, Oct. 3.

What began as an enormous search-and-rescue operation ended after approximately 66 hours, with the Coast Guard suspending its active search after covering thousands of square miles of ocean. No survivors were located.

The six people aboard have since been identified as 66-year-old Marilyn Lavonne Bean of Bermuda, who was being transported to Boston for medical treatment; her 41-year-old son, Sergio Wayne Lottimore; Captain Philip Gregory Childerhose; First Officer Thomas Henry Farquhar; flight nurse Sarah Jane Paton; and respiratory therapist Jolene Beth Weir.

The Canadian-registered aircraft, tail number C-GRJP, departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport shortly after midnight and was heading to Boston Logan International Airport when the crew encountered trouble while approaching the northeastern United States.

The plane was scheduled to arrive in Boston at approximately 1:25 a.m., but air traffic controllers began having difficulty communicating with the crew as the aircraft flew north over the Atlantic.

Chilling air traffic control recordings captured a controller struggling to understand transmissions from the jet as its apparent emergency developed.

“You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?” the air traffic controller asked around 12:46 a.m. “Are you declaring an emergency or no?

“You’re coming in a little weak so I didn’t hear what your response was,” the controller added.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has since confirmed that the crew reported electrical difficulties as the aircraft approached the Boston area. The jet subsequently entered a rapid descent before air traffic controllers lost contact with it south of Nantucket.

Flight-tracking information showed the aircraft falling from approximately 24,000 feet to around 11,000 feet in roughly three minutes beginning at about 1:04 a.m. The jet appeared to stabilize following the dramatic descent, but communications problems continued.

At Boston Logan, emergency personnel were already preparing for the aircraft’s arrival. At approximately 1:12 a.m., a Massport Fire Rescue dispatcher alerted crews that a plane experiencing an “electrical issue” was expected to land in Boston in about 15 minutes.

“The aircraft has lost radio and radar,” the dispatcher said of the plane.

Those preparations would prove futile. The jet never reached Boston, and an official search-and-rescue alert was triggered at approximately 1:20 a.m.

“The FAA is coordinating with the Rescue Coordination Center and the U.S. Coast Guard to locate the aircraft,” the agency said as the search began.

The Coast Guard deployed an extensive array of resources into the waters south of Nantucket, including an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Brant Point and the Coast Guard cutter William Sparling.

The William Sparling continued searching through the night as aircraft and vessels combed the ocean for any indication of the missing plane or its six occupants.

Crews eventually spotted a debris field in the Atlantic south of Nantucket. The Coast Guard subsequently confirmed that the wreckage was associated with the missing Gulfstream, extinguishing hopes that the aircraft might somehow have remained airborne or made an emergency landing elsewhere.

During the first 27 hours alone, Coast Guard crews searched approximately 1,644 square miles. The massive effort ultimately continued for about 66 hours and covered thousands of square miles before officials concluded that the chances of finding survivors no longer justified continuing the active search.

Latitude Air Ambulance subsequently said that the six people aboard Heartbeat 104 were presumed dead. The company described the loss as a devastating event and said it would cooperate with investigators while supporting the families of those aboard.

The flight was a medical mission carrying Bean from Bermuda to Boston for treatment. Her son Lottimore, a Bermuda-based reinsurance executive and former Warwick Academy student, accompanied her on the flight.

The four Canadian crew members were experienced aviation and medical professionals tasked with carrying patients requiring specialized care between countries. Latitude Air Ambulance is based in Hamilton, Ontario, and specializes in long-distance medical transportation.

Attention has now shifted from rescue operations to determining exactly what caused the aircraft to go down.

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board announced that it will lead the investigation because the Gulfstream was registered in Canada. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will participate as an accredited representative, and Canadian investigators are expected to assist with efforts to locate and recover the aircraft and other evidence.

The investigation will focus in part on the electrical difficulties reported by the crew, the deterioration in radio communications and the jet’s sudden loss of altitude. Investigators will also examine weather conditions along the aircraft’s route.

No official determination has been made about what caused the crash, and investigators have cautioned against drawing conclusions before the wreckage, flight data and other evidence can be examined.

Former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo said the combination of the aircraft’s steep descent, poor weather and possible instrument problems would be particularly dangerous for a pilot.

“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.

“It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc. Spatial orientation hits pretty quickly.”

The aircraft was manufactured in 1996 and had been registered to Latitude Air Ambulance since 2018. The Gulfstream G100 is a twin-engine business jet that can be configured for long-range medical transportation.

Because the accident occurred in international waters off the Massachusetts coast, the investigation involves authorities from multiple countries. Under international aviation agreements, however, Canada, as the aircraft’s country of registration, will take the lead, with U.S. investigators assisting.

Investigators are expected to seek the recovery of as much wreckage as possible as they attempt to reconstruct the aircraft’s final minutes and determine why a medical flight bound for Boston suddenly lost communications, descended sharply and disappeared into the Atlantic.

{Matzav.com}