Medical Flight Disappears Off U.S. Coast; All Six Onboard Presumed Dead

Mon Oct 05 2026 15:09:48 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A Gulfstream medical transport bound for Boston vanished over the Atlantic, leaving its crew, patient and escort presumed dead after a search by the Coast Guard ended.

The 23:40 departure from Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport turned tragic when the Gulfstream G‑100, carrying four Canadians and two Bermudians, lost contact just after 01:00 local time and was never found. Searches off Nantucket were abandoned after a debris field was recovered and no survivors were located. Latitude Air Ambulance confirmed the loss, vowing to support families and cooperate with investigations. The flight, designated Heartbeat 104, illustrates the high‑stakes nature of international medical transport.

Medical Flight Disappears Off U.S. Coast; All Six Onboard Presumed Dead

A Gulfstream G‑100 medical transport known as Heartbeat 104 vanished over the Atlantic Ocean after departing Bermuda for Boston on Saturday morning, leaving its entire complement of six people presumed killed. The aircraft lost all communications just after 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and was never located before the U.S. Coast Guard called off the search off the coast of Nantucket on Sunday evening.

Latitude Air Ambulance, the Canadian operator, confirmed that the four members of its Latitude team, a patient and an escort were aboard. The company said it would continue to cooperate with authorities and stop short of speculating on the cause, while expressing that the loss was “unimaginable” for staff and loved ones alike.

Flight‑tracking data shows the Gulfstream had been cruising around 7,300 m (24,000 ft) before suddenly dropping to roughly 3,300 m (11,000 ft) as communications failed. Radio exchanges recorded by LiveATC.net suggested the pilot declared an emergency, but no clear response was captured before contact ceased. An area fire dispatcher reported an “electrical issue” at 01:00 EDT, after which the aircraft was listed as lost by radar.

A debris field, confirmed to belong to the missing aircraft, was found the day after the disappearance, but it provided no evidence of survivors. The Coast Guard officially ended its search operations following assurances from the wreckage analysis that the plane was unlikely to have made a controlled landing.

The incident underscores the inherent risks of cross‑Atlantic medical flights, with 24,000‑foot service aircraft carrying critically ill patients, their family members and highly trained crews. Officials are urging that the tragedy prompt a review of safety protocols for medical transport over remote oceanic stretches.