The passengers who were on the Ontario-based air ambulance flight that went missing off the coast of Nantucket have been identified, as the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it will be leading the investigation into what happened to the aircraft.
asserted
what → base → aircraft
The medevac flight that disappeared early Saturday was being operated by Hamilton, Ont.-based Latitude Air Ambulance, en route from Bermuda to Boston, carrying a patient accompanied by a family escort.
asserted
that → disappear → escort
The other four people on the plane — two pilots and two medical staff — were Canadian and have not yet been identified.
asserted
people → identify → plane
On Monday, the Bermuda Police Service identified the two passengers as Bermudian nationals Marilyn Lavonne Bean, 66, and her 41-year-old son, Sergio Wayne Lottimore.
asserted
Service → identify → nationals
The Gulfstream G100 jet C-GRJP had the callsign Heartbeat 104, and went missing early Saturday morning off the coast of Nantucket in the Atlantic Ocean.
asserted
jet → have → Ocean
A Latitude spokesperson told the Star on Sunday evening that company staff, many of whom rushed to the office and worked overnight Saturday, are in contact with family members of the crew and are planning to release more details.
asserted
many → tell → details
“Given the information shared by authorities and the conclusion of the search and rescue phase, we must now face the heartbreaking reality that the four members of our Latitude team, our patient and the patient’s family escort, who were aboard Heartbeat 104, are presumed to have died,” Latitude said in a press release late Sunday night.
asserted
Latitude → give → release
They dedicated themselves to providing care to people at some of the most difficult moments in their lives, and they were carrying out that mission when this tragedy occurred.
asserted
tragedy → dedicate → mission
We are grieving their loss deeply and will continue to support their families and our employees through the difficult days ahead,” said the release.
asserted
release → grieve → days
On Monday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada put out a statement saying it is leading the investigation.
asserted
it → put → investigation
“Pursuant to international agreements, the investigation shall be conducted by the State of registry, which is Canada.
asserted
which → conduct → registry
The TSB will be assisted by the (U.S.) National Transportation Safety Board as accredited representatives, and in the coming days will deploy investigators to assist in the search and recovery of the aircraft,” said the release.
asserted
release → assist → aircraft
Warwick Academy, the school Lottimore attended in Bermuda, remembered him as a school prefect and an “outstanding person.”
asserted
Lottimore → attend → prefect
Hamilton Re, the Bermuda insurance firm where he served as a senior vice president, said it had lost a “ respected leader, colleague and friend.”
“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.”
The loss of the Latitude Air Ambulance
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the flight around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, about 20 minutes outside its destination of Boston’s Logan International Airport.
asserted
loss → serve → Airport
Very little is known about what happened in the final moments of the flight.
The plane went missing early Saturday carrying four staff and crew from the GTA and Hamilton areas, along with a patient and family escort.
asserted
plane → know → escort
The plane went missing early Saturday carrying four staff and crew from the GTA and Hamilton areas, along with a patient and family escort.
asserted
plane → go → escort
The jet made its departure from Bermuda around 11:42 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
asserted
jet → make → p.m.
Records from the website flightaware.com show the plane climbing normally to 24,000 feet and remaining at that altitude until shortly after 1 a.m.
asserted
plane → show → a.m.
The jet then made a descent of about 11,000 feet before resuming stable flight until its disappearance.
asserted
jet → make → disappearance
Around 1:10 a.m., air traffic control recordings show the pilots made contact with a U.S.-based controller.
asserted
pilots → show → controller
The controller can be heard saying he is having problems hearing the pilots.
asserted
he → hear → pilots
At one point, the controller describes the plane as “coming in blind,” after which he repeatedly asks if they wanted to declare an emergency.
asserted
they → describe → emergency
While the U.S. Coast Guard have called off the search and rescue mission, it is unclear whether recovery efforts are underway.
uncertain
efforts → call → mission
At a press conference on Sunday morning, Coast Guard officials said that the plane’s black box recorder had not been recovered.
asserted
recorder → say → morning
Authorities have said they plan to use sonar to comb the seabed floor where a field of debris spanning roughly 30 metres was discovered Saturday, about 160 kilometres short of the flight’s planned destination.
asserted
field → say → destination