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US Coast Guard crews and regional emergency teams continued searching Sunday for six people aboard a medical transport plane after finding wreckage off Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The priority is to locate the six people on board, US Coast Guard Northeast Commander Matt Lake told reporters, describing the area as large and challenging to search.
Search covers thousands of square kilometres
Search operations began at about 2 a.m. local time Saturday, after the Federal Aviation Administration notified maritime authorities that air traffic controllers had lost contact with a “Gulfstream G100” aircraft.
The “Latitude Air Ambulance” flight was travelling from Bermuda to Boston with four Canadian citizens and two Bermudian nationals on board.
Teams found a debris field confirmed to belong to the missing plane about 32.2 kilometres (20 miles) off Nantucket, in waters 24.4 to 27.4 metres (80 to 90 feet) deep, Lake said.
Authorities were working with Massachusetts state agencies to deploy sonar-equipped vessels to survey the seabed, he added.
Investigators receive recovered debris
Coast Guard Capt. John McTamney said weather conditions had been favourable for the search, with winds of 15 to 20 knots and waves about 0.9 metres (3 feet) high.
Coast Guard crews, Massachusetts authorities and the New York National Guard air rescue wing searched about 7,355 square kilometres (2,840 square miles) over roughly 53.5 hours of continuous operations.
Recovered debris had been secured for investigators, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Kastriot Kastrati said. He added that there were “no indications” that a black box had been found among the wreckage.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said she was concerned about the disappearance. She said Global Affairs Canada consular personnel remained in contact with relevant officials and thanked search crews for their efforts.
