Debris from a missing medical transport jet has been found off the coast of Nantucket as the US Coast Guard continues searching for the aircraft and the six people on board after it disappeared early Saturday while en route from Bermuda to Boston, the agency said.The plane was flying at an altitude of 24,000 feet for more than an hour before it plunged 13,000 feet over two minutes, according to FlightAware data.The Federal Aviation Administration issued a search and rescue alert notice around 1:20 a.m. for the Gulfstream G-100, which departed from L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda for Boston Logan International Airport, the FAA said.The FAA reported losing contact with the aircraft early Saturday morning, the Coast Guard Northeast District said, adding the search is underway off Nantucket, an island of Massachusetts around 30 miles south of Cape Cod.Next of kin are continuing to be notified of the crews search efforts, Rear Adm. Matt Lake, the district commander, said at a Sunday news conference.Coast Guard search crews located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft, officials said later Saturday, adding crews will continue to search throughout the night.The depth of the water where the debris was found is estimated at about 80 to 90 feet. The crews are using craft equipped with sonar to assist in the search.Coast Guard crews have searched more than 2,800 square miles over 53 1/2 hours, along with the New York National Guard, the 106th Rescue Wing and Massachusetts authorities, according to the agency.This is a large and demanding search area. Our crews are employing fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, boats and cutters to search the area and well continue to evaluate all available information as our operation progresses, Lake said.The weather, as of Sunday, was favorable for search operations, according to Coast Guard Capt. John McTamney, chief of response for the Northeast District.Well continue to search and saturate the area until were at the point where we are confident that if there were any survivors remaining on the surface of the water, we would have found them, McTamney said.The missing Gulfstream plane was built in 1996, according to Canadian government records, and has been registered to the Canada-based company Latitude Air Ambulance since 2018.The four-person plane crew had flown to Bermuda to collect a patient and their relative, Latitude Director of Flight Operations Clarence Togeretz told CNNs newsgathering partner CBC.The two pilots and two medical staff are Canadian, according to Togeretz. The two other people are Bermudian nationals, the Coast Guard said, adding families have been notified.The company lost contact with the plane around 1:30 a.m. and notified the Coast Guard after it failed to land on schedule, Togeretz added.The company operates four of the Gulfstream G100 aircraft, along with Learjet 35A, Beech 1900-D and Falcon 900B aircraft.Latitude is relied on by hundreds of individuals every year to provide safe and reliable medical repatriation back to their homes from wherever they are in the world, the companys website says. Each air ambulance flight is staffed with two pilots and medical team members that are fully trained and qualified to provide the necessary care to each patient.Past flights by the companys planes have included 120 countries and every continent except Antarctica.My thoughts are with all those on board, as well as their families, loved ones, and colleagues, during this extremely difficult time, Steven MacKinnon, Canadas transportation minister, said in a social media post on Saturday. We are closely following the situation and working with the relevant authorities as search and rescue operations continue.The Bermuda government has been in contact with American authorities as well as the families of those on board, Premier David Burt said on social media.My thoughts are with everyone on board and their families during this deeply worrying time, he said in a statement.Former FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko explained that in addition to conducting grid searches and retracing the planes expected path, the Coast Guard can also track a missing aircraft through its Emergency Locator Transmitter, which automatically sends a distress radio signal after a crash.If an airplane ends up on the bottom of the ocean, it puts out a beep, and thats another way that searchers can look for it, Kolko told CNNs Fredricka Whitfield on Saturday.Air traffic controllers describe plane having issue before losing contactAir traffic controllers got word that a Boston-bound air ambulance was having some sort of issue before losing contact with the plane early Saturday morning, according to audio recorded by LiveATC.net.Roger, you said youre coming in blind. Is that what you said? the air traffic controller is heard asking in the audio.Are you declaring an emergency or no? the controller then asked.No response from the aircraft was audible in the recording as the controller made repeated attempts to reestablish contact.The controllers then asked another airplane flying in the area to look for the medical transport jet and to try to contact it by radio.The aircraft did not arrive at Boston Logan as scheduled, according to Ben Crawley, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport.Our thoughts are with those on board and their loved ones as the search continues, he said in an email to CNN.The plane took off just after 12:40 a.m. in Bermuda, according to FlightAware. It had a scheduled landing at around 1:12 a.m. in Boston.The-CNN-Wire 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. ...read more read less