Latest news with #cabinpressure
New York Times
14-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Pressure Loss Led to Private Jet Crash After Sonic Boom Scare, Report Says
An unresponsive private aircraft that drew a response from military jets in 2023, causing a sonic boom in and around Washington, D.C., most likely suffered a loss of cabin pressure before it crashed in Virginia, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released on Tuesday. All four people on board were killed when the private business jet went down near Montebello, Va., in June 2023. The N.T.S.B. said in its report that the plane most likely suffered a loss of cabin pressure, leading to a lack of oxygen and incapacitating the pilot and the three passengers. The board also found that the pilot operated the plane without supplemental oxygen, contributing to the accident. The cause of the pressure loss was unclear, the report said. The plane, a Cessna 560 Citation V, had a number of maintenance issues that were flagged, including several related to the pressurization and environmental control system, according to the report. Two days before the flight, maintenance crews noted that there was no pilot-side oxygen mask, and that the supplementary oxygen levels were so low that oxygen masks would not have been deployed if the cabin lost pressure. There was no evidence that these issues were addressed before the flight, the report said. The plane took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tenn., around 1:15 p.m. on June 4, 2023, and was headed to Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. The pilot stopped responding to commands from air traffic control about 15 minutes after taking off, the report said. The pilot probably became incapacitated as he climbed to a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet, the report said. Rather than land on Long Island, the plane, which appeared to be on autopilot, turned around and flew over Washington. Military jets sent to make contact with the plane traveled at supersonic speeds that produced a loud boom heard across the region. The pilots of the military jets, who used radio transmissions, flight maneuvers and flares to try to intercept the private aircraft, observed that the pilot of the Cessna was 'completely slumped over' and 'motionless,' according to the report. At around 3:22 p.m., the plane began 'a high-velocity, near vertical descent' into mountains just north of Montebello, Va., the report said. The impact of the crash created a crater, and wreckage was scattered around the accident site. The victims were identified as Adina Azarian; her 2-year-old daughter; her nanny and the pilot. The jet was owned by Encore Motors of Melbourne, a company in Florida. The company's management could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday night.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
A lack of oxygen likely incapacitated the pilot of a private jet that crashed in Virginia in 2023
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A lack of oxygen that incapacitated the pilot and three passengers is likely what caused a private jet to become unresponsive before flying over the nation's capital and prompting the military to scramble fighter jets in 2023, according to a final report from the National Transportation Safety Board released on Tuesday. The oxygen problem was likely caused by a loss of cabin pressure, according to the report. Investigators could not determine the exact reason for the pressure loss, but they noted that the Cessna Citation had a number of maintenance issues. They included no pilot-side oxygen mask and supplemental oxygen at its minimum serviceable level. 'At that level, oxygen would not have been available to the airplane occupants and passenger oxygen masks would not have deployed in the event of a loss of pressurization,' according to the report. It concluded that, 'Contributing to the accident was the pilot's and owner/operator's decision to operate the airplane without supplemental oxygen.' Four people died in the June 4, 2023 accident. They were pilot Jeff Hefner, 69; New York real estate broker Adina Azarian, 49; Azarian's 2-year-old daughter Aria; and Evadnie Smith, 56, who worked as live-in nanny for Aria. Prior to the crash, Azarian, Aria and Smith were in North Carolina to visit Azarian's adoptive parents. Hefner stopped responding to air traffic control instructions within minutes of taking off from Elizabethton, Tennessee, at 1:13 p.m. The plane flew to New York, near its destination at Long Island's MacArthur Airport. Inexplicably, the plane then turned around and flew a straight path over D.C. Fighter jets sent after it caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region as they raced to catch up. The plane then plunged almost straight down in into a mountain near Montebello, Virginia, and burst into flames at 3:23 p.m. Fighter pilots tasked with intercepting the wayward flight said Hefner 'was laying and slumped completely over into the right seat and remained motionless throughout their observations,' according to NTSB records. They did not observe any movement within the cabin area nor any shapes that resembled a person. Lack of oxygen, called hypoxia, can affect people differently, but it is known to cause confusion, disorientation, and diminished judgment and reactions, according to the report. A pilot would likely have between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to take corrective action. That time could be less if the depressurization is rapid. 'However, gradual depressurization can be as dangerous or more dangerous than rapid depressurization because of its potential to insidiously impair a pilot's ability to recognize and respond to the developing emergency,' according to the report. 'Cognitive impairment from hypoxia makes it harder for affected individuals to recognize their own impairment.' The report noted that Hefner had several health issues and had been prescribed at least one medication that was potentially impairing but did not list those issues as contributing to the accident.
