The Bermuda Police Service (BPS) confirmed that two Bermudian nationals, a mother and son, were aboard the plane that went missing off the coast of Nantucket Saturday morning around 1:20 am.
Two of the six passengers were identified as Marilyn Lavonne Bean, 66, and her son Sergio Wayne Lottimore, 41, by BPS Monday. Officials said that a patient and family member were aboard the plane, but who was the patient remains unclear Monday. The four other passengers were from Canada, according to a press release from the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and all are presumed dead.
The USCG announced Sunday night that search and rescue efforts were suspended after 4,445 miles were searched over approximately 66 hours. The announcement came hours after the USCG held a press conference about mission updates that included details of a debris field found 20 miles from Nantucket.
“Suspending a search is not an easy decision,” Rear Adm. Matthew Lake, commander of the USCG Northeast District, said in a press release. “We express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones affected by the tragedy and our gratitude for our partner agencies who helped support search efforts.”
Agencies that participated in the search also included New York Air National Guard’s Air Rescue Wing; helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, boats, and cutters were used in the search.
“A future investigation into the cause of the incident will be coordinated by the appropriate investigative authorities,” the press release from USCG said. The National Safety Transportation Board, a government agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation, said in a statement Monday that the “appropriate investigative jurisdiction is currently being determined,” according to the Boston Globe.
The aircraft, a Gulfstream G100 (tail number C-GRJP) called Heartbeat 104 Medevac, was an air ambulance transport operated by Latitude Air Ambulance, a Canadian air medical transport provider that delivers specialized medical evacuation. The plane came from Bermuda and was headed to Boston, a 2.5-hour flight. It departed from L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda and was supposed to arrive at Boston Logan International Airport.
Latitude Air Ambulance, based in Ontario, released a statement Sunday, Oct. 4: “It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the decision by the [USCG] to conclude active search and rescue operations and transition to recovery efforts.”
The USCG began a response around 2 am Saturday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notified the maritime armed forces that contact was lost and issued a search and rescue alert notice around 1:20 am.
“This is an unimaginable loss for our Latitude family and for everyone who loved the six people aboard Heartbeat 104,” Peter Byl, president of Latitude Air Ambulance, said in the release. “Our focus now is on supporting their families, supporting our people, and assisting the authorities. We will honour our colleagues by remembering the care, professionalism, and commitment they brought to their work every day.”
Latitude said in the statement that the company plans to cooperate as recovery efforts and the investigation proceed.
USCG officials said in a press release Saturday night that 1,644 square miles over approximately 27 hours, and a “debris field confirmed to be from the aircraft” was located off the coast of Nantucket.
“During the search, Coast Guard crews were successfully able to locate a debris field that’s been now determined to be associated with the missing aircraft,” Lake said at the press conference. The debris field was located in an area 80 to 90 feet deep.
Lt. Commander Kastriot Kastrati said the amount of debris has made it hard to “get into the details of what’s there.” But the black box, an aircraft’s flight recorder, hadn’t been located yet.
When the press conference was held at Coast Guard Base Boston Sunday, Oct. 4 at 11 am, the search remained ongoing and 2,840 square miles had been covered over 53.5 hours. Winds at 15 to 20 knots and three-foot seas lent to favorable weather for a search, officials said. The plan was to continue to “saturate the area” to find survivors, Lt. Commander John McTamney said.
“We’ll continue to search and saturate the area until we’re at the point where we are confident that if there were any survivors remaining on the surface of the water, we would have found them,” McTamney said at the press conference.
The priority, Lake said at the press conference, was to locate the six people on board, and they kept “next of kin notified of the progress of our search efforts.” He added: “We’re in the process of working with Massachusetts authorities to get some craft out there that are equipped with sonar to be able to do some detection on the seabed floor.”
It remains unclear what medical facility the aircraft was headed to when it went missing.
A press release from Preston Harimon, airport manager of Nantucket Memorial Airport, said that the “aircraft reportedly declared an emergency prior to the loss of contact.”
“While we held out hope for the best, the worst fears have been realized and so our first thoughts are with the families of those so tragically lost,” E. David Burt, premier of Bermuda, said in a social media statement. “Let us open our hearts to the families in the hope that our expression of love, support and compassion will bring some comfort as they attempt to deal with this terrible loss.”
