U.S. Coast Guard continues search for missing plane with 6 people; some debris found

Investigators found debris from a medical transport plane that was carrying six people when it disappeared over the Atlantic early on Saturday during a flight from Bermuda to Boston. A Coast Guard statement said teams searching off the coast of the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, found debris confirmed to be from the aircraft, described as an air ambulance.

“The six passengers and crew on board were still missing at the time the debris field was discovered,” a Coast Guard spokesman said. Ships, planes and helicopters were launched after air traffic controllers lost contact with the air ambulance.

Air traffic controllers had difficulty communicating with the flight in its final moments. The air ambulance had departed Bermuda late on Saturday, carrying a patient, a family member and a crew of four.

The patient and the family member were identified as citizens of Bermuda. The crew were identified as Canadian citizens, although the names of the people on board the flight were not immediately released.

As it approached Nantucket, the plane reported electrical faults, according to radio transmissions. Data from the FlightAware website shows the plane descended thousands of feet within three minutes and disappeared from radar shortly afterwards, at around 1 a.m. local time.

The Coast Guard said on Saturday evening that its cutter William Sparling will continue to search throughout the night for the people on board the air ambulance.