Mother And Son From Bermuda Identified As Victims Of Plane Crash Off Nantucket
Jason Graziadei •
The Bermuda Police Service has confirmed the identities of the two Bermudian nationals who were on board the plane that crashed into the ocean south of Nantucket early last Saturday morning.
Marilyn Lavonne Bean, 66, and her son, Sergio Wayne Lottimore, 41, were traveling aboard the Gulfstream G100 aircraft from Bermuda to Boston on a medical transport mission before the pilot declared an emergency and the aircraft lost contact with air traffic controllers.
Four crew members from Canada were also on board the air ambulance when it crashed approximately 20 miles south of Nantucket. They have not yet been publicly identified, but their loss was described as "unimaginable" by the president of Latitude Air Ambulance, the Ontario-based company they worked for.
"This is an unimaginable loss for our Latitude family and for everyone who loved the six people aboard Heartbeat 104," said Peter Byl, President of Latitude Air Ambulance, referring to the call sign of the aircraft. "Our focus now is on supporting their families, supporting our people and assisting the authorities. We will honour our colleagues by remembering the care, professionalism, and commitment they brought to their work every day."
The Royal Gazette of Bermuda reported Monday that Battimore was a 2002 graduate of Warwick Academy and had been working as a senior vice president for specialty reinsurance at Hamilton Reinsurance Bermuda.
John Huff, president of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, told the Gazette that the business community of Bermuda “mourns the tragic loss of one of its own, Sergio Lottimore, an accomplished specialty lines industry leader, a chartered property and casualty underwriter and trusted colleague."
An extensive search by the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies for the six people who were on the aircraft when it crashed was suspended Sunday evening. Search teams had discovered a debris field linked to the aircraft the day before.
The situation began when the FAA issued a search-and-rescue alert notice for the Gulfstream G-100 around 1:20 a.m. Saturday morning, an FAA spokesperson told the Current. The flight departed from L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda and was headed to Boston Logan International Airport.
On Monday, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada said it would lead the investigation into the plane crash.
"Pursuant to international agreements, the investigation shall be conducted by the State of registry, which is Canada," the agency stated. "The TSB will be assisted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as accredited representatives, and in the coming days will deploy investigators to assist in the search and recovery of the aircraft."