Citation II crashes off Latvian coast

On 4 September, a privately owned Cessna Citation II (OE-FGR, msn 551-0021) departed Jerez-La Parra Airport, Spain, at 14:56 hours local time, on a flight to Cologne-Bonn Airport, Germany. with four people onboard.

It continued at an assigned altitude of 36,000 feet until it entered German airspace. German ATC (Air Traffic Control) was unable to establish radio contact with the crew so the decision was taken to send a Panavia Tornado of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), which departed Rostock-Laage and intercepted the Cessna at 18:15.

The Tornado crew did not see any one in the cockpit and evacuated the area 35 minutes later, at 16:50.

The airplane overflew Germany then entered Swedish airspace and continued to the northeast without any significant change in heading, altitude or speed (365 knots).

At 20:28, the Citation started to descent and initiated a turn to the right, three minutes later. At 20:40, it entered an uncontrolled descent to the left and spiraled to the sea before crashing at 20:44, about 37 kilometres northwest of Ventspils, Latvia.

The final altitude received by Flightradar24 was 2,100 feet at an 8,000 feet per minute rate of descent, making this a CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain) accident.

A Swedish rescue helicopter was able to find wreckage and an oil slick in the water.

Sadly the four occupants (German businessman Peter Griesemann, the pilot, Peter's wife Juliane, their daughter Lisa, and a family friend) did not survive the impact.

It is likely that a malfunction happened with the pressurization system, leading to a lack of oxygen for Peter, which ultimately ended in the crash...