World · World News Bureau
Medical transport aircraft with six aboard vanishes off US coast
A medical evacuation plane lost radio contact with air traffic control after experiencing a sudden altitude loss near Massachusetts, prompting a search and rescue operation. Flight tracking data showed the aircraft descended sharply before communications ceased.
LSN World News ·
Search and rescue operations were underway off the Massachusetts coast after a medical transport aircraft carrying six people disappeared from radar screens. The plane lost communication with flight controllers following a significant and unexplained drop in altitude, according to flight data recorded before the loss of contact.
The aircraft, which was engaged in medical evacuation duties, was operating in airspace regularly monitored by regional air traffic control facilities. Investigators have begun reviewing flight data and communications records to determine the circumstances surrounding the altitude loss and subsequent disappearance of the aircraft.
Authorities have not yet disclosed details about the passengers and crew aboard the aircraft or the nature of the medical emergency the plane was responding to. The search operation has mobilized multiple agencies and vessels in an effort to locate the aircraft and those aboard.