Private Jet Carrying Toddler Crashes in Virginia Mountains: Pilot Found Unconscious

Jakarta –

A private jets carrying a toddler had an accident in the mountains of the United States. The tragic mystery is getting unraveled.

Launch BBCThursday (8/6/2023), a private jet pilot who was chased by a fighter jet before it crashed in Virginia was seen slumped in the cockpit, US media reported.

The fighter jet spotted the pilot who appeared to be unconscious after intercepting the plane, officials told media including the Washington Post and CNN.

The pilot and three other passengers died in Sunday’s crash. The Cessna Citation aircraft crossed restricted airspace over Washington DC before crashing in Virginia.

The plane was bound for Long Island from Tennessee. It made a sharp turn when it reached New York before flying back south towards its origin.

Upon entering airspace over the US capital, the country’s most restricted area, F-16 fighter jets were allowed to fly at supersonic speeds to intercept them. A loud sonic boom echoed around the area.

The pilots remained silent for the last two hours of the flight and the plane eventually ran out of fuel and crashed in a heavily forested mountainous area near Montebello in Virginia.

a

Fighter jets don’t shoot

It’s not clear why the pilot didn’t respond. The military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plane was not shot down and the fighter jet did not cause the crash.

Investigators are now combing rural Virginia to assess debris that they say is highly fragmented. The operation will likely take days.

“Everything was on the table until we slowly and methodically removed the various components and elements relevant to this safety investigation,” said National Transportation Safety Board investigator Adam Gerhardt.

A report with more details will be released next week. A final report on the fatal incident will be released in 12 to 24 months.

The toddler died and the identity of the other passengers

The four people who died have not been officially identified. But someone connected to the plane said that his family members were on board.

John Rumpel, 75, who runs the Florida business that owns the plane, told the New York Times his daughter, two-year-old granddaughter, and their nanny were on the plane with the pilot.

He said they had returned to East Hampton, New York state, from his home in North Carolina.

“The private jet was descending at 20,000 feet per minute, and no one could have survived the crash at that speed,” said Rumpel, who is also a pilot.

Rumpel identified the pilot as Jeff Hefner who he said had been flying for more than five years, speaking separately to the Washington Post. He has not been named by officials.

Possible causes of anomalies

Richard Levy, a retired captain and pilot instructor, said the Cessna may have lost cabin pressure.

The aircraft cabin can experience depressurization for a number of reasons, including due to mechanical failure of the aircraft or pilot error.

In this case, Levy said the cabin may have experienced a gradual depressurization. Hypoxia occurs silently without realizing it, a condition in which the body lacks oxygen levels, until it’s too late.

Levy said the pilot may have realized at one point that the cabin was depressurizing and then tried to turn the plane on the autopilot setting. “After that, I assume the pilot then lost consciousness,” he said.

Watch Video “Raffi Ahmad sells a private jet for Rp. 39 billion, Tarra Budiman: Can you pay later?“

(msl/fem)