Search and rescue teams recovered debris from a missing medical transfer plane that vanished while en route from Bermuda to Boston, authorities reported. The Gulfstream G100 aircraft, carrying six people, lost contact with air traffic control in the early hours of Saturday, prompting an extensive search operation off the coast of Nantucket.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert around 1:20 a.m. Eastern Time after communication with the plane was lost. The U.S. Coast Guard swiftly deployed assets including aircraft, a helicopter, and two boats, some dispatched from a Cape Cod station, to conduct search efforts in the area. The search, described as a large and demanding operation, covered more than 2,800 square miles over 36 hours, according to Rear Adm. Matt Lake of the Coast Guard.

Flight tracking data showed the plane departed Bermuda’s only airport on St. David’s Island at 11:41 p.m. the previous night and maintained an altitude of approximately 24,000 feet until around 1:05 a.m., when it began descending several thousand feet. Aviation experts called the descent irregular and indicative of a serious problem onboard. Brad Wheeler, a retired commercial pilot, and Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the Transportation Department, noted the aircraft appeared to be responding to an emergency before contact was lost.

The plane’s flight path was north of the Bermuda Triangle, a region often associated with unexplained disappearances. Bermuda, a British territory home to about 65,000 residents, is located roughly 780 miles east of Boston.

Manufactured in Israel in 1996, the aircraft was part of the fleet operated by Latitude, a company that maintains 10 planes including four Gulfstream G100s configured for medical transport. These specialized aircraft typically carry a nurse and respiratory therapist, with intensive care unit equipment onboard and occasionally a physician as part of the crew. The plane in question had recently conducted multiple flights between Bermuda and Boston, as well as trips within Canada and to San Francisco.

Medical transfer planes have experienced several recent crashes in the United States, with fatal incidents reported in New Mexico, Texas, and Philadelphia in the past year. Officials confirmed the search for the missing plane and its occupants was ongoing as of Sunday afternoon, with no survivors reported. Investigations into the cause of the incident are underway.