Lack of oxygen likely caused 2023 air crash that prompted Washington, DC scare
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is likely the pilot and three passengers became incapacitated during the aircraft's climb to cruise altitude.
The board said it appeared the plane was on autopilot at the time when it crossed into restricted airspace around Washington.
Maintenance records raised questions about the issues around the pressurisation and environmental control system weeks before that the crash the owner had declined to address.
The jet fighters created a sonic boom over the US capital region as they pursued the errant Cessna. A Cessna Citation can carry seven to 12 passengers.
The US military attempted to contact the pilot, who was unresponsive, until the Cessna crashed in mountains in Montebello, Virginia near the George Washington National Forest.
The Cessna began the day at its home airport in Melbourne, Florida, and later took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee. It was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, about 80km east of Manhattan.
The NTSB said the plane reached the airport and then made nearly a 180-degree turn.
The airplane was intercepted by US air force fighter aircraft minutes before it crashed.
Pilots observed a person seated in the left cockpit seat slumped completely over into the right seat who remained motionless and unresponsive to radio transmissions, intercept flight manoeuvres and flare deployments.
Incidents involving unresponsive pilots are not unprecedented. Golfer Payne Stewart died in 1999 along with five others after the aircraft he was in flew thousands of kilometres with the pilot and passengers unresponsive. The plane eventually crashed in South Dakota with no survivors.
In the case of Stewart's flight, the plane lost cabin pressure, causing the occupants to lose consciousness because of oxygen deprivation.
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IOL News
22-07-2025
- IOL News
Bangladesh mourns as toll from jet crash at school hits 27
Bangladesh's fire service and security personnel conduct a search and rescue operation after an Air Force training jet crashed into school in Dhaka on July 21, 2025. At least 16 people, mostly students, were killed on July 21, when a training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed into a school campus in the capital Dhaka, the government said. Image: Abdul Goni / AFP FAMILIES and teachers gathered Tuesday at a Bangladeshi school where a training fighter jet crashed, killing 25 children and two others in the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades. Most of the victims were pupils who had just been let out of class when the Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College on Monday. "So far, 27 people have died. Among them, 25 are children and one is a pilot," said Sayedur Rahman from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, updating an earlier death toll of 20. "Seventy-eight people are being treated in different hospitals," added Rahman, special assistant to the ministry's chief adviser. More than 170 people were injured in the crash, said the military which is investigating the cause. The usually bustling school was eerily quiet on Tuesday morning, with classes cancelled. "Along with the children, the school has lost its life," said teacher Shahadat Hossain, whose son narrowly escaped the crash. "There are two swings in front of the affected building. During lunch breaks and after school, children play there. Even yesterday, around the time the plane crashed, students were on those swings," the 45-year-old told AFP. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Around 7,000 pupils are enrolled at the school, including Abul Bashar's sixth-grade son whose best friend was killed. "He came out just two or three minutes before the accident occurred," said Bashar. "He couldn't sleep through the night and forced me to bring him to school this morning," the father added, his son standing in silence. Children's trauma School authorities have collected bags, shoes, and identity cards of children from the site. Pahn Chakma, a senior police officer, said that armed forces personnel are still sweeping the area. "They will hand over the place to the police later, and we will then collect evidence, including any human remains or belongings of students and others," Chakma said. Air Force personnel on duty said the remnants of the fighter jet were removed on Monday night, but they are still scouring the site for evidence. "I don't know how long it will take to return to normalcy, to relieve the children from this trauma," teacher Hossain said. On Monday night, school authorities held prayers at the campus. Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the incident and declared a day of national mourning. "The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable," he said. "This is a moment of profound pain for the nation." The military said the pilot, flight lieutenant Towkir Islam, was on a routine training mission when the jet "reportedly encountered a mechanical failure". He tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas but, "despite his best efforts", crashed into the two-storey school building, the military said Monday. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
IOL News
22-07-2025
- IOL News
Bangladesh fighter jet crash kills 25 children at school in nation's deadliest air disaster in decades
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TimesLIVE
22-07-2025
- TimesLIVE
At least 27 dead, mostly children, in Bangladesh air force jet crash
At least 25 children were among the 27 dead people pulled from scorched buildings after a Bangladesh air force jet on a training mission crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials said on Tuesday, with 88 people treated in hospital. The F-7 BGI aircraft crashed soon after it took off at 1.06pm on Monday from the airbase in Kurmitola in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure. Visuals showed rescue workers scouring the charred buildings for debris while distressed family members surrounded the site. Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries. The dead included 25 children, a teacher and the pilot. The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship. The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013. The incident comes as neighbour India is grappling with the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad last month, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.
