Air ambulance from Bermuda declared emergency, US ATC asked ‘you’re coming in blind?': Moments before plane vanished over Atlantic

An air ambulance carrying six people from Bermuda to Boston, United States, may have been “coming in blind” with electrical problems when a storm loomed ahead of it early on Saturday, shortly before it vanished in the waters off Nantucket.

The pilot's transmission could not be heard well in the recording. (Representational)According to air traffic control audio posted by LiveATC.net, the pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as the flight approached the coast.

“Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is that what you said?” a controller can be heard asking the pilot.

The pilot's transmission could not be heard well in the recording. The controller later confirmed the pilot was declaring an emergency just before losing contact with the plane, the Associated Press reported.

The Canadian-registered air ambulance jet had four crew members and two passengers aboard when it departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport overnight for the flight to Massachusetts, according to a statement from the Bermuda airport's operator, Skyport.

Mary Schiavo, a former Inspector General of the US Transportation Department, thinks the plane may have lost its navigational instruments just as a storm moved across its path on radar.

The plane also descended sharply from its cruising altitude of around 24,000 feet to around 10,000 feet, according to preliminary data from flight tracking site FlightRadar24.

“Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm. It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind,” said Schiavo, who is an aviation attorney. “It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc. Spatial orientation hits pretty quickly,” Schiavo was quoted by AP as saying.

The US Coast Guard said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the Gulfstream G100 had lost contact very early on Saturday morning.

The search for the jet included crews in the air and on the water, the Coast Guard said.

Four of the six people on board the flight were Canadian nationals, the country’s minister of transport, Steven MacKinnon, said on X, adding that Transport Canada is closely monitoring and working with authorities on search and rescue efforts.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was gathering information about the situation on Saturday, but did not immediately say whether it would investigate.

Shivam Pratap Singh is a digital journalist who works as a Deputy Chief Content Producer with Hindustan Times. Having previously worked with various platforms covering national, international as well as sports events, he blends in various topics to easy to read news pieces for the benefit of the reader. Shivam holds a Master's degree in International Relations from Jamia Millia Islamia, bringing in a unique perspective for whatever is happening around the world. An avid reader, he can be seen immersed in books and book shops while not working. Shivam treats every topic almost equally but loves to right about foreign affairs and politics of India. He has over half-a-decade of experience in digital journalism though his career started in print.Read More