Business Jet Crashes in Virginia Mountains After Unresponsive Flight Over DC

The tragic crash of a business jet over the nation’s capital has left investigators puzzled as to what caused the aircraft to go off course and ultimately crash into a Virginia mountain. The preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the plane went into a “near-vertical descent” at a “high velocity” before bursting into flames, killing all four people on board.

The plane’s erratic flight path, which took it over restricted airspace in Washington, D.C., prompted the military to scramble fighter jets to intercept the aircraft. Pilots of the fighter jets reported that the pilot of the business jet appeared to be slumped over in the cockpit. The lack of a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder at the crash site has made it difficult for investigators to determine the cause of the crash.

Family and friends have identified two of the victims as an entrepreneur and her 2-year-old daughter, along with the girl’s nanny and the pilot. The owner of the plane, John Rumpel, believes that the pilot likely lost consciousness due to a lack of oxygen, as the plane climbed above 10,000 feet without proper pressurization.

Aviation experts have also speculated that a pressurization failure or mis-setting of the pressurization system may have led to the pilot losing consciousness. The tragic crash has left many questions unanswered, as investigators continue to piece together the events leading up to the fatal incident.