The search for a Canadian-registered Gulfstream G100 medical transport aircraft that disappeared while flying from Bermuda to Boston has entered a new phase after the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a debris field located off Nantucket is associated with the missing aircraft.

The aircraft, registration C-GRJP, was operated by Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance. It departed L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda at approximately 12:41 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, bound for Boston Logan International Airport with six people aboard — four Canadians and two Bermudian passengers. U.S. Coast Guard official update

According to local reporting, the aircraft was carrying two pilots, two medical staff, a patient and a family member. The Coast Guard has said the next of kin have been notified. Nantucket Current’s report

Contact was lost during the flight

The Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday that contact with the Gulfstream had been lost.

The aircraft had been traveling toward Boston when communications were lost south of Nantucket. Search-and-rescue crews were subsequently deployed to the area, with Coast Guard aircraft, helicopters, boats and cutters participating in the operation. ABC News report

Preliminary flight-tracking information indicates the aircraft had been cruising at approximately 24,000 feet before making a rapid descent. Reports based on flight-tracking data put the aircraft at roughly 10,000 to 11,000 feet shortly before contact was lost. Associated Press report

The pilot had also reportedly reported electrical problems and declared an emergency before the aircraft disappeared.

Air-traffic-control recordings have attracted attention because the controller appears to ask the crew whether they were “coming in blind”. The circumstances surrounding that exchange, and precisely what systems may have been affected, have not been established publicly.

Debris located off Nantucket

After an extensive search, the Coast Guard confirmed that crews located a debris field associated with the missing Gulfstream G100 off the coast of Nantucket.

The Coast Guard said search crews had covered more than 1,644 square miles over approximately 27 hours. The cutter William Sparling continued search operations through the night, alongside other Coast Guard assets. U.S. Coast Guard search update

The discovery confirms that debris from the aircraft has been located, but the six people aboard remain unaccounted for.

The Coast Guard continues to search the waters for those aboard the aircraft.

Investigation has not established a cause

At this stage, authorities have not announced what caused the aircraft to disappear.

The reported electrical problems, the emergency declaration, the aircraft’s rapid descent and the final communications are all part of the information now available to investigators. However, none has been identified officially as the cause of the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information, while Canadian authorities are also involved because the aircraft was Canadian-registered and the crew included Canadian nationals. Associated Press report

For now, the focus remains on the search and recovery operation off Nantucket and locating the six people who were aboard.

The Gulfstream G100 had been making what should have been a routine medical transport flight between Bermuda and Boston. Within hours, it had disappeared over the Atlantic, triggering one of the largest search operations in the area before the discovery of the aircraft’s debris field.

The circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s final minutes remain under investigation.