HANA, Hawaii -- A medical transport plane with three crew members on board has gone missing on a flight between Maui and the Big Island, according to a statement from the company.
“Global Medical Response can confirm that one of our Hawaii Life Flight emergency fixed wing airplanes based in Maui, went off radar while en route to pick up a patient in Waimea, Big Island,” the company statement issued Friday said.
The patient was not on the plane, which lost radar contact about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, it said.
“We are in the process of reaching out to their families,” the statement said.
The company is also assisting search and rescue teams.
The Coast Guard did not immediately return messages Friday to The Associated Press. However, the agency did tweet that aircraft controllers lost radar contact with the plane about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Hana, Maui, in the Maui Channel of the Pacific Ocean.
The Coast Guard says it is searching with boats, a helicopter and a cargo plane. The guard tweeted one of its aircraft spotted a sheen in the search area. It also reported one of its patrol boats recovered debris in the area, but it said there was no confirmation that it was from the missing plane.
Global Medical Response said it has temporarily paused Hawaii Life Flight transports.
