New York : The US Coast Guard has suspended the active search operations for the six individuals travelling on board the medical aircraft that went down off the Nantucket coastline, officials announced.In an official statement released on Sunday (local time), officials stated, “The Coast Guard has suspended its search Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, for the six passengers aboard the missing medical transport aircraft off the coast of Nantucket.”
According to the same statement, the Coast Guard, alongside collaborating partner agencies, covered 4,445 miles throughout approximately 66 hours of searching.Rear Admiral Matthew Lake, who serves as Commander of the Northeast District, stated, “Suspending a search is not an easy decision.”
He added, “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.”Earlier during the day, Coast Guard teams continued scanning the waters, searching for the six people alongside the aircraft's flight recorder.
Officials indicated that locating the jet's black box could present significant challenges, considering how “extensive” the resulting debris field proves to be.Lake stated, “In the debris we've identified at this point, there is no indication that we found a black box.”
While authorities refrained from disclosing the precise dimensions of the debris field, Kastriot Kastrati, who acts as the search and rescue mission coordinator for the US Coast Guard's northeast district, explained that the sheer size and quantity of debris have rendered it “very difficult to get into the details of what's there.”
Lake noted that the debris field lay approximately 32 kilometres away from the Nantucket coastline, where local water depths range between 24 and 28 metres.Fragments originating from the Gulfstream G100 twinjet appeared floating across the ocean waters on Saturday evening. The aircraft, carrying six occupants, was journeying from Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport towards Boston Logan International Airport when it abruptly vanished from Federal Aviation Administration radar screens shortly prior to its planned 1:25 am arrival.