The search remains ongoing for six people aboard an air ambulance aircraft that went down approximately 20 miles off Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The U.S. Coast Guard says crews, working alongside the New York National Guard and Massachusetts authorities, have searched approximately 2,840 square miles over 53-and-a-half hours.
Coast Guard officials say the search is being conducted using fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, boats and cutters.
The priority, officials stressed, remains locating the six people aboard the aircraft.
At a press conference, Coast Guard officials said debris has been located and recovered, but they have not yet determined exactly what all of the recovered components are. The debris has been secured for future investigative purposes.
The aircraft was an air ambulance transport carrying passengers from Bermuda toward the Boston area. Coast Guard officials said they could not provide additional details about the passengers, including their gender, medical status or intended medical facility, out of respect for the families and next of kin.
Officials also declined to speculate about what caused the aircraft to go down.
Questions were raised about reports that the aircraft may have experienced electrical problems before communications were lost. The Coast Guard said determining the cause of the incident will be part of the subsequent investigation.
The Coast Guard says it was notified by the Federal Aviation Administration at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday that an aircraft was missing, prompting the search operation.
The debris field is located in approximately 80 to 90 feet of water.
Authorities are now working with Massachusetts officials to deploy vessels equipped with sonar to search the seabed.
The Coast Guard also confirmed that no black box has been identified among the debris recovered so far, although officials say efforts would be made to locate the aircraft’s flight recorder as part of the investigative process.
Weather conditions have so far been described as favorable for the search. Officials reported winds of approximately 15 to 20 knots and seas of about three feet, saying weather has not been a significant factor hampering the operation.
Despite the relatively favorable conditions, officials acknowledged the size of the search area presents a major challenge.
The Coast Guard says it will continue saturating the area with available resources and will determine when to conclude the search based on whether officials are confident that any survivors remaining on the surface would have been located.
At this stage, officials emphasized that the operation remains classified as a search for the missing personnel, rather than formally declaring a recovery operation.
The Coast Guard says next of kin are being kept informed as the search continues.
TNN News will continue to monitor this developing story and provide updates as more information becomes available.
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