6 Presumed Dead After Medical Jet Vanishes Off Massachusetts Coast

Six people, including a prominent Bermuda insurance executive and his mother, are presumed dead after a medical transport jet bound for Boston disappeared off the coast of Nantucket.

The Gulfstream G100 was traveling from Bermuda to Massachusetts early Saturday, Oct. 3, when air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft.

Authorities later found a debris field believed to be from the missing plane, prompting an enormous search across the waters off Massachusetts.

Among those aboard were 41-year-old Sergio Wayne Lottimore and his 66-year-old mother, Marilyn Lavonne Bean, both residents of Bermuda.

Lottimore worked for Bermuda-based Hamilton Re, where he held a senior position in credit, bond and political risk reinsurance. The company said it was heartbroken by the tragedy.

The other four people aboard were Canadian members of the Latitude Air Ambulance crew.

They were identified as Capt. Philip Gregory Childerhose, First Officer Thomas Henry Farquhar, flight nurse Sarah Jane Paton and respiratory therapist Jolene Beth Weir.

Latitude said the flight, known as Heartbeat 104 Medevac, was carrying four crew members, a patient and a family escort from Bermuda to Boston.

The company did not publicly specify whether Lottimore or Bean was the patient.

The U.S. Coast Guard launched an extensive search after the Federal Aviation Administration reported losing contact with the twin-engine jet at around 2 a.m.

Aircraft, helicopters, boats and Coast Guard cutters were deployed as crews searched thousands of square miles of ocean near Nantucket.

Debris associated with the missing aircraft was located Saturday.

By Sunday, the Coast Guard suspended active search-and-rescue operations, and Latitude acknowledged that all six people aboard were now presumed dead.

“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,” the company said.

Latitude President Peter Byl called the loss “unimaginable” and said the company was focused on supporting the victims’ families while cooperating with investigators.

The company later shared tributes to its four crew members.

Childerhose was remembered as an experienced pilot who was deeply passionate about aviation and known for his kindness.

Farquhar was described as a beloved colleague and a “gentle giant” who was always willing to help others.

Paton was remembered as a dedicated nurse whose family described her as selfless, hardworking and full of life.

Weir, a wife and mother, was praised for her commitment to helping others through her work as a respiratory therapist.

Tributes also poured in for Lottimore.

Warwick Academy in Bermuda, where he graduated in 2002, remembered him as a former school prefect and “an outstanding person.”

Hamilton Re said it was profoundly saddened by the loss of Lottimore and his mother.

Lottimore had nearly two decades of experience in financial lines insurance and reinsurance before joining Hamilton Re in 2024.

Flight-tracking information reportedly showed the jet descending sharply during the final portion of the flight, while air traffic control audio suggested communications with the aircraft had become difficult.

In recordings reported by news outlets, a controller could be heard asking the crew whether they were declaring an emergency after apparently struggling to understand their transmission.

The controller repeatedly attempted to contact the aircraft moments later but received no response.

Exactly what happened aboard the jet remains under investigation.

Latitude said it is cooperating with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and other authorities as investigators work to determine what caused the aircraft to disappear.