The U.S. Coast Guard announced Sunday night that it has called off the search for six people who were aboard a medical flight that went missing off the coast of Nantucket. The decision comes more than a day after debris from the aircraft was found, and after search crews covered an expansive area of ocean.
The aircraft, a Gulfstream G100 with tail number C-GRJP, was en route from Bermuda to Boston when the Federal Aviation Administration reported losing contact with it around 2 a.m. Saturday. The plane was carrying four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals, according to officials. The flight had declared an emergency prior to losing contact, a spokesperson for Nantucket Memorial Airport said in a statement, though details remain unconfirmed.
Search efforts began immediately, with Coast Guard crews scouring the waters south of Nantucket. On Saturday afternoon, authorities confirmed they had located debris from the aircraft, but no survivors have been found. Despite continued searches by air and sea on Sunday, the Coast Guard made the difficult call to suspend operations.
“Suspending a search is not an easy decision,” Coast Guard Northeast District Commander Matthew Lake said in a statement. “We express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones affected by the tragedy and our gratitude to our partner agencies who helped support search efforts.”
Over the course of more than 66 hours, the Coast Guard covered roughly 4,445 square miles in the search. The agency did not disclose the identities of those on board, and authorities have not publicly released a passenger manifest.
The Government of Bermuda issued a statement on social media Saturday, saying it had been in contact with the families of those on board. Premier David Burt expressed his condolences, saying, “My thoughts are with everyone on board and their families during this deeply worrying time.”
The incident has raised questions about the safety of search missions and the challenges of locating aircraft in the open ocean. The region has a history of maritime incidents, including a recent shipwreck exposed off Nantucket, underscoring the area's treacherous conditions.
The Coast Guard's decision to suspend the search does not close the investigation. Federal authorities will continue to probe the circumstances of the flight, including the nature of the declared emergency. The aircraft's last known position and the debris field will be key to understanding what happened.
For the families of the six individuals, the suspension marks a painful end to a desperate wait. As the search winds down, the focus shifts to recovery efforts and the official investigation, which may take months to complete.
