Citation crash in Virginia
On 4 June 2023, a Cessna Citation V of Encore Motors of Melbourne (N611VG, msn 560-0091) was destroyed when it crashed near Staunton (VA), killing all four persons onboard. The Citation was operating a flight from Elizabethton (TN) to Islip-Long Island MacArthur Airport (NY) but, at some point en route, the pilot apparently stopped responding to ATC instructions. He was instructed to maintain altitude at 31,000 feet, but did not respond. The plane continued climbing until reaching a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet and proceeded to fly on the correct bearing to land at MacArthur Airport
Approaching its destination airport the aircraft failed to descend and instead carried out a left 180 degree turn to reverse course. It then continued on this new heading for nearly an hour before eventually entering a steep descent and crashing some twenty kilometres south of Staunton, with an impact rate of 28,864 fee per minute.
Six F-16s from Joint Base Andrews (MD) and two other facilities flew at supersonic speeds to intercept it, causing the boom heard across Virginia, Maryland and the District, according to social media reports. This supersonic flight was coordinated between NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and the FAA.
The reason the Fighting Falcons were dispatched was that the Cessna was flying over DC, including some of the most heavily restricted airspace in the country, before crashing into mountainous terrain near Montebello (VA). The F-16s used flares to try to get the Cessna's attention, but failed to do so.
Instead, it crossed a Special Flight Rule Area (SFRA), which is a thirty mile radius that requires all aircraft to provide a flight plan, broadcast a specific electronic code and maintain radio contact with air traffic controllers. The plane also crossed into DC’s Flight-Restricted Zone (FRZ), a fifteen mile no-fly zone around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DC), restricting all nongovernmental air traffic to permission from the FAA. The no-fly zone was created after the attacks on 11 September 2001
The Citation V also crossed near two prohibited areas, which include airspace over the White House, the National Mall, and the vice president’s residence. In those areas, aircraft are not permitted to fly at an altitude below 18,000 feet. President Biden was golfing with his brother Jimmy at the course near Joint Base Andrews at the time.
Eventually it crashed at about 15:30 in mountainous Augusta County. This sadly was the result of a failure of the cabin pressurisation system, leading to oxygen starvation and subsequently losing consciousness, leaving the pilot incapacitated.
The owner of Encore Motors of Melbourne, John Rumpel, had told The New York Times and Washington Post that his daughter, two-year-old granddaughter, her nanny, and a pilot were aboard. Rumpel had added that his family was returning home to East Hampton after a visit with him. Sadly, all of them lost their lifes on impact.
Photo: Honeywell (for illustration purpose only)