Virginia plane crash investigators ask
when pilot became unresponsive and why
aircraft flew its path
Associated Press,
by
Sarah Brumfield
&
Michael Balsamo
Original Article
Posted By: Dreadnought,
6/5/2023 10:27:38 PM
WASHINGTON — The pilot of a business jet that flew over Washington and crashed in a remote part of Virginia appeared to be slumped over and unresponsive, three U.S. officials said Monday, recounting observations by fighter pilots who intercepted the wayward flight.
The revelations came as federal investigators trudged through rugged terrain to reach the site where the plane slammed into a mountain Sunday, killing four people. The officials who said that the fighter pilots saw the civilian pilot slumped over had been briefed on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the military operation.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Dreadnought 6/5/2023 10:30:29 PM (No. 1485487)
The article's revealed timestamps strongly imply that the pilot (and probably passengers) were incapacitated within 15 minutes of departure, while still climbing to altitude. If the F16 pilots saw the pilot slumped over about 2 hours later, that implies the windows did not frost over as in the Payne Stewart failure (not an explosive decompression?). And "erratic" may not be the right word to describe the flight path as the aircraft was clearly following a flight plan (with specific waypoints) to KISP entered into the aircraft's Flight Management System. It's possible the FMS ran out of instructions after its final turn to ISP and just continued on a flight path that coincidently took them on a straight path directly back to their point of departure, which happened to cross DC airspace.
9 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Thos Weatherby 6/5/2023 10:55:02 PM (No. 1485494)
Smells like a false flag to me. The plane owner and her husband were huge Trump donors. The planes flight pattern is very strange. Was it a message to someone? Castle Rock sound familiar? Where did the plane crash? Very strange indeed.
9 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Aeneid1 6/5/2023 11:20:24 PM (No. 1485502)
Vax Crash ?
8 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Catherine 6/5/2023 11:57:34 PM (No. 1485508)
I didn't buy this story from the start. The media couldn't report he donated to Trump fast enough. Makes you wonder if that was a message of some sort...........
7 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 6/6/2023 12:10:14 AM (No. 1485511)
Lots of tinfoil hats being donned here.
When you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras.
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
HisHandmaiden 6/6/2023 12:57:57 AM (No. 1485533)
Pray for the families…
They/We will probably never know the Truth.
And pray for America to return to righteousness.
For Your Glory, Lord.
MAGA
10 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
varkdriver 6/6/2023 2:43:55 AM (No. 1485545)
#1, spot on. The pilot last spoke to ATC about 25 mins after takeoff, and the aircraft followed the FMS flight planned route. Sounds like hypoxia, and as you pointed out, not a rapid decompression. My only thought is, from my experience, once your cabin altitude starts to climb above a certain point, you get bells/whistles/caution/warning lights, in addition to your own hypoxia symptoms. No doubt this experienced pilot had thousands of hours of uneventful flight, and I would wager he was wearing a headset, not an oxygen mask. Very sorry to hear about this tragedy.
The aircraft was intercepted on the eastbound leg, as it clipped the southern edge of the DC restricted airspace, then exited to fly towards Islip. As you noted, the beeline return route to departure airfield in TN took it dead center through that same airspace, hence the second interception.
5 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Safari Man 6/6/2023 8:12:16 AM (No. 1485680)
#5 makes an interesting point, but I’m not expecting zebras, horses, or unicorns. I think this is all about DONKEYs
8 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
red1066 6/6/2023 9:31:28 AM (No. 1485776)
Could exhaust fumes have entered the aircraft? Seems kind of unlikely traveling at the speed the aircraft was flying, but stranger things have happened.
0 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Redbone 6/6/2023 10:03:47 AM (No. 1485809)
Cirrus’ Private Jet Can Now Land Itself, No Pilot Needed.
The Safe Return Emergency Autoland System lets passengers hit a big red button to bring the plane to safety if the pilot's incapacitated.
It is in many newer high end jets.
0 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 6/6/2023 11:02:36 AM (No. 1485847)
Sounds like they got to altitude and didn't have cabin pressure, like the Payne Stewart accident. Hypoxia sets in and no one stays awake. There should have been a Co-Pilot who could take control for an incapacitated Pilot in Command, but if both are out then everyone goes down. It was either a procedural error, maintenance fault, or a bad seal on the cabin door, as in the Stewart crash.
2 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
DVC 6/6/2023 11:51:55 AM (No. 1485938)
Pressurization system failed.
I have done an "FAA altitude chamber ride" to learn about high altitude hypoxia symptoms and effects. After a morning of classroom learning on the topic, we went to their altitude chamber, about 18 of us, half on one side half on the other, partnered with the person on the opposite bench, as we faced each other.
We had a simple test with math and question. After pulling off the mask I was very surprised when my 'buddy' took off the mask and after about 10 seconds, his eyes rolled back in his head and I had to catch him from falling to the floor from the bench as he passed out. I put the mask on him.
Wow!
My "ride" was uneventful, I completed all the questions while thinking "I feel fine. My answers will probably all be wrong." I was still feeling fine when the time limit was called and re-donned my mask, disappointed at not learning my hypoxia symptoms.
My 'buddy' was the most sensitive of our group, and about three of us lasted the five minutes or so before they ended the test. This is apparently fairly normal, a great individual variability in sensitivity to low O2 partial pressure.
So....the pilots could have been incapacitate literally in 10 seconds after the pressurization system failed. they were at 34,000 ft where the time of useful consciousness is even shorter.
They are supposed to have "quick donning" masks close at hand - but in the past there have been dysfunctional emergency oxygen systems which meant that the pilots' donning of the masks did nothing.
If they had been one of the few who are less sensitive, possibly they could have quickly dove the aircraft, but that didn't happen, and would be unlikely at 34,000 ft. The emergency oxygen must work, and somehow didn't.
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 6/6/2023 11:56:39 AM (No. 1485942)
Re #9, far less likely. And I agree whole heartedly with #5, Tinfoil hats are way too tight, cutting off blood flow to the brain.
In jet engines the high pressure cabin air is taken from the first part of the turbine, the compressor section, well ahead of the combustion section so very unlikely to have combustion products. In rare cases seals fail on compressor section bearings and oil smell and occasionally oil smoke has entered cabins, but this doesn't have the carbon monoxide of gasoline engine systems, not good but not insidiously incapacitating like CO.
2 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Dreadnought"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)