Agencies from Canada and the US will search for the black boxes from a medical evacuation flight that went missing on Saturday while travelling from Bermuda to Boston.

The Transport Safety Board of Canada, which is leading the investigation into the incident, has confirmed it is in the process of sending a “small team”, along with colleagues from the US National Transport Safety Board, to Nantucket, Massachusetts, to help co-ordinate the search for the plane’s recording devices as well as helping with the recovery and salvage effort.

A TSB spokesman said: “The aircraft has not yet been located, including the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.

“The two recorders (black boxes) are a key element to determining what happened during the occurrence.

“While it is possible to investigate the occurrence without the black box, those recorders contain a lot of information that would aid in the conduct of the investigation.”

He added: “Once the aircraft has been recovered, additional investigators may be required to help examine the recovered material.

“Some pieces may be sent to the TSB engineering laboratory in Ottawa for additional analysis.”

The Gulfstream G100 jet, registration C‑GRJP, was carrying two Bermudians and four Canadians when it crashed.

It was approaching the Boston area when the crew reported electrical difficulties. The aircraft subsequently descended rapidly and contact with air traffic control was lost south of Nantucket

The TSB spokesman added: “It is difficult to give an exact figure for how long any investigation can take.

“There are many factors that need to be examined and analysed, which can take a long time. It is not unusual for an investigation on this scale to take up to two years to complete.

“We aim to provide some preliminary information within the first 30 days of the investigation, and we will publish updates on the TSB investigation page when or if there is new information.

“If at any time, we determine there is a risk to safety, we will not wait to complete our investigation and immediately communicate with stakeholders so that they may take preventative or corrective action as required.”

Meanwhile, a woman understood to be a colleague of some of the crew members on board Heartbeat 104 described the Bermuda to Boston route as the “colloquial ‘milk run’” because the trip is made so often.

Posting a tribute to her friends on Substack, Fayrosa Mya wrote: “Everyday, medical evacuation teams perform missions around the world that carry risks that are normally incomprehensible to the general public.”

Ms Mya described Jolene Beth Weir, the respiratory therapist on board the flight, as an incredible friend, confidante, mentor and mother figure.

She added that Captain Philip Gregory Childerhose, who is understood to have visited Bermuda more than 100 times, was “protective, silly and genuinely gleeful”.

Ms Mya wrote: “Phil and Jolene did flights like the one I talked about here every single day. They transported hundreds of people home.

“They did so with care, dignity and an extreme regard for safety of all.”

“I am so grateful for the privilege of knowing them,” she added, while expressing condolences to the loved ones of First Officer Thomas Henry Farquhar and Sarah Jane Paton, a flight nurse

Residents of the island have continued to pay tributes to the crew members on board.

Commenting on a memorial to Mr Childerhose, which was posted by the pilot’s cousin, one person wrote: “So incredibly sorry. He flew me out twice, and I will be for ever grateful for his professionalism, care and expertise.

“Much love and hugs to your whole family at this unimaginable loss.”

Another added: “Condolences to you and the family and all those who have been impacted by this tremendous tragedy. Our prayers are with you. Bermuda stands united with you.”

A third said: “Prayers and condolences for the family. Captain Phil was our pilot during our air ambulance in August, from Bermuda to New Jersey and then New Jersey to North Dakota.

“He was such a nice person. May your soul rest in peace, Captain. Thank you for flying us safe during our transfer.”