Boston-bound plane vanishes with 6 on board; Coast Guard launches search off Nantucket coast

The U.S. Coast Guard is looking for a plane with six people on board that disappeared Saturday morning while en route to Boston from Bermuda.

Authorities are searching for the Gulfstream G100, a twin-engine, mid-size jet, off the coast of Nantucket. 

Both air and surface crews have been deployed to the area, according to the Coast Guard Northeast District.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported losing contact with the aircraft early Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

Later Saturday, the FAA issued a statement that said it is "coordinating with the Rescue Coordination Center and the U.S. Coast Guard to locate the aircraft."

The Coast Guard is searching for the missing aircraft after it disappeared Saturday morning. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images, File)

According to data from FlightAware, the plane took off from Bermuda L.F. Wade International Airport at 11:41 p.m. ET. The FAA told Fox News Digital it issued a Search and Rescue Alert Notice at about 1:20 a.m. ET.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the state's three major airports, confirmed that the aircraft did not arrive at Boston Logan International Airport as scheduled.

"Our thoughts are with those on board and their loved ones as the search continues," the agency said.

Nantucket Harbormaster staff and Nantucket Police search the south shore of Nantucket on Saturday, after a Boston-bound plane vanished near the island. (Nantucket Current)

The Canadian-registered aircraft is owned by Latitude Air Ambulance, according to records from the Official Canadian Civil Aircraft Register database reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Latitude Air Ambulance is a medical transport company that brings patients home from around the world when they require specialized care. The company did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

The National Transportation Safety Board told Fox News Digital that it is currently gathering information and declined to provide an update on the situation.

"My thoughts are with the six people aboard the missing air ambulance traveling from Bermuda to Boston, and their families," Bermuda's Premier David Burt said in a statement. "Government has contacted the family and US search and rescue authorities. We are praying that everyone will be found safe."

Waters off the Nantucket coast, where the Coast Guard is searching for the missing plane. (Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images, File)

The plane plummeted from 24,000 feet to 11,000 feet in just three minutes at around 1 a.m., according to data from FlightAware. 

Skyport, the company that manages the airport in Bermuda, confirmed that a "Canadian-registered air ambulance departed L.F. Wade International Airport for Boston at approximately 12:41 am on Saturday, October 3, 2026, with six souls on board, including four crew members and two passengers." 

"The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has advised that air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft off the coast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, and a search is currently underway. 

Skyport has no further information to provide at this time," the company added. 

 A HC-130 Hercules is among the assets searching for the missing plane. (U.S. Coast Guard, File)

"This aircraft was dealt a dire one-two punch: a safety critical in-flight problem, followed almost immediately by a perilous weather event and an 11,000-foot plunge," former U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo said in analysis sahred with Fox News Digital. 

As of Saturday afternoon, the Coast Guard has deployed HC-130 Hercules and HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft to search for large swaths of the Atlantic Ocean.

An MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Brant Point and the Fast Response Cutter William Sparling have also been dispatched, the Coast Guard said.