Latest news with #ElizabethtonMunicipalAirport
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NTSB releases report on 2023 plane crash in Nelson County that killed four
NELSON COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) – The NTSB has released its Aviation Investigation Final Report into the plane crash that killed four people at a remote location near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Nelson County in June 2023. The NTSB said the cause of the crash was pilot incapacitation due to loss of cabin pressurization leading to hypoxia or oxygen deprivation for all passengers, as well as several other contributing factors, including an inadequate oxygen system and a missing pilot-side oxygen mask (Page 2), issues with the pressurization and environmental control system (Pages 2 & 6), overdue inspections (Page 2), a delay in detecting pressurization failure (Page 2), and the decision to operate the aircraft with known maintenance issues (Page 2). ORIGINAL REPORTING | NTSB: Recovery 'challenging' at remote Augusta County plane crash site 'Pilot incapacitation due to loss of cabin pressure for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's and owner/operator's decision to operate the airplane without supplemental oxygen.' – (NTSB Report, Page 3) On June 4, 2023, a Cessna 560 Citation V took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee with Florida business owner John Rumpel, his 2-year-old granddaughter, and their nanny. The trio was on their way to East Hampton, Long Island, after visiting Rumpel in North Carolina. According to the NTSB report, at 1:28 p.m., the 69-year-old pilot stopped responding at around 26,000 ft after controllers instructed the aircraft to stop its climb at 33,000 ft. 'At 1328, the controller amended the previous altitude clearance, instructing the pilot to stop the climb at 33,000 ft for crossing air traffic. The pilot did not respond.' – (NTSB Report, Page 4) After losing contact with the Cessna, a loud sonic boom was then heard in the DMV area as F-16 jets were scrambled from Joint Base Andrews to intercept the plane, as reported by the Washington Post. Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport performs full-scale crash test The Office of the Secretary of Defense stated that F-16s were 'authorized to travel at supersonic speeds' to intercept the unresponsive Cessna and that during the incident, they utilized flares to 'draw attention from the pilot.' The report continues and states that the USAF fighters intercepted the unresponsive aircraft and observed no cabin oxygen mask deployed, and one person was slumped over in the cockpit. The plane then entered a rapid, spiraling descent and crashed into the mountainous terrain around 3:30 p.m. 'The flight path showed little deviation in track angle or altitude until 1522, when the airplane entered a rapidly descending right spiral descent into terrain.' – (NTSB Report, Page 5) Small plane crashes at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia Search and rescue operations with the Virginia State Police located the wreckage around 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, 2023. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
TimesLIVE
14-05-2025
- General
- TimesLIVE
Lack of oxygen likely caused 2023 air crash that prompted Washington, DC scare
A lack of oxygen likely incapacitated the pilot of a Cessna Citation 560 in June 2023 that prompted the US military to scramble F-16 fighter jets before the private jet crashed in Virginia, killing all four occupants, a final report said on Tuesday. 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.
