A Gulfstream G100 jet lost contact with air traffic control early Saturday after a sudden altitude drop, leaving radar void off Nantucket. The aircraft, tail number CGRJP, was on a scheduled flight from Bermuda to Boston when it vanished from the radar scope at about 6:12 a.m. local time.
Flight‑tracking data showed the jet plummeted from roughly 23,500 feet to 11,000 feet within a span of three minutes before the final signal. The abrupt descent, coupled with the loss of all communications, prompted the Coast Guard to act within minutes.
The Coast Guard Northeast District posted the loss on X, stating that Air Station Cape Cod, US Coast Guard Station Brant Point in Nantucket, and the cutter USCGC William Sparling had been dispatched for a joint air‑and‑surface search. Helicopters and surface vessels are sweeping the waters south of Nantucket Island while maritime patrol aircraft keep an eye on the anticipated flight corridor.
No details have yet emerged about the six people aboard; the Coast Guard has not released passenger or crew information. Analysts note that the Gulfstream G100, a popular business jet, has a service history that includes no prior incidents of this nature.
The search is expected to continue through the weekend, with the Coast Guard monitoring satellite data and coordinating with the FAA’s Air Route Traffic Control Center in Boston to manage the airspace. Officials have urged any witnesses in the area to come forward with information that could help locate the missing aircraft.