US Coast Guard aircraft continue to search the ocean for an air ambulance that went missing en route from Bermuda to Boston.
US Coast Guard aircraft continue to search the ocean for an air ambulance that went missing en route from Bermuda to Boston.
6 people are on board – a Bermudian patient and their relative, two Canadian pilots and two Canadian medical staff.
An HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew from Cape Cod have been over the waters south of Nantucket Island for several hours.
Flightradar 24 shows that the search aircraft has followed a standard search pattern while circling over some points.
One area seems to have been the subject of search since just after 4pm.
A HC-130 Hercules crew from Elizabeth City rejoined the search around 5pm, and later proceeded to the same area.
A Lifeboat crew from Brant Point, abord the CGC William Sparling, have also been in the area.
We still await further reports from the US Coast Guard on the search.
The missing air ambulance left Bermuda around 12:40am today, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a search and rescue alert for the plane at 1:20 am.
US Air Traffic Control lost contact with the aircraft shortly after it appears the pilots had indicated they were “coming in blind”, and had declared an emergency.
US aviation consultant Tom Kinton told WCVB News in Boston that, to his understanding, the aircraft may have lost its electrical power, which would have made it more difficult to track by satellite and pinpoint its exact location.
With satellite out of the equation, he says, you rely on ground-based radar that can only see 200 miles, “so if they were beyond 200 miles, they can’t even see where { the plane } potentially went down.”
The air ambulance is registered to Canadian company Latitude Air Ambulance.
Clarence Togeretz, Latitude’s Director of Flight Operations, told CBC News in Canada that the two pilots and two medical staff are Canadian, and had flown to Bermuda to collect a patient and their relative.
Mr Togeretz did not state the nationality of the passengers, but Bermuda Broadcasting can confirm the patient and their relative are Bermudian.
Mr Togeretz said, “We’re praying for a safe outcome”.
Bermuda Broadcasting News were told the family of the Bermudian passengers are requesting privacy at this time and are awaiting updates from the search effort.
