In this brief video, AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Richard McSpadden runs through the likely scenarios that resulted in the June 4, 2023, crash of a Citation in Virginia southwest of Washington, D.C. The pilot became unresponsive and F-16s dispatched to intercept the flight observed him slumped in the pilot seat. Two scenarios seem likely: The aircraft lost pressurization and the pilot succumbed to hypoxia or suffered some sort of incapacitation such as a heart attack. It’s not known if the passengers remained conscious during the event.
Best Of The Web: Early Analysis Of Citation Crash
Key Takeaways:
- A Citation jet crashed on June 4, 2023, in Virginia, after its pilot became unresponsive.
- F-16s intercepted the flight and observed the pilot slumped in the cockpit before the crash.
- Two primary scenarios are considered likely causes: loss of cabin pressurization leading to pilot hypoxia, or sudden pilot incapacitation such as a heart attack.
- It is unknown if the passengers onboard remained conscious during the event.
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