The private Cessna plane that crashed in Virginia yesterday after startling Pentagon officials and scrambling two F-16 jets was likely flying on autopilot as it made a mysterious U-turn toward Washington DC after cabin pressure fell and everyone on board lost consciousness.
The plane was carrying Adina Azarian, her two-year-old daughter Aria, their nanny and the pilot, who has not yet been named.
It took off from Elizabethton Airport in Tennessee at 1:13 p.m. and was scheduled to land at MacArthur Airport in Islip, Long Island.
The plane approached MacArthur instead, but then turned around at 2:45 p.m. and flew south again to alert D.C. officials.
No one on board answered calls from the ground, prompting two F-16 fighter jets from Joint Base Andrews to rush to his side to investigate.
They flew at such a speed that a sonic boom was heard over parts of DC and Virginia.
The plane was carrying Adina Azarian, her two-year-old daughter, their nanny and the pilot, who has not yet been named. It took off from Elizabethton Airport in Tennessee at 1:13 p.m. and was scheduled to land at MacArthur Airport in Islip, Long Island. Instead, it flew north, turned around, and then crashed into Virginia
Adina Azarian and her two-year-old daughter Aria were killed in the crash. They were traveling with their nanny, who has not yet been named, but who also died
Once airborne, the F-16 pilots reported seeing the Cessna pilot lower into the cockpit. Within moments, the Cessna crashed and tumbled at a terrifying 28,000 feet per minute in St Mary’s Wilderness, about 175 miles southwest of Washington DC.
While the tragedy is still being investigated, aviation experts tell DailyMail.com it was likely due to a cabin pressurization failure that caused the pilot — and everyone else — to pass out from a lack of oxygen.
As the plane approached Long Island, instead of landing, it turned back south.
Kyle Bailey, a former FAA Safety Team representative, told DailyMail.com that it was likely the result of the pilot programming his route.
“What seems to have happened when the plane flew into Islip was very high.
“They could very well be incapacitated for work [by then]. The pilot has waypoints in the program, it is comparable to a GPS system. So the autopilot would have flown it to Islip, and the next point could very well be the airfield they took off from.
“It could have been toward DC or somewhere south. It seems that it was applied in that direction.
“In that scenario, the plane probably flew itself.”
Azarian’s two-year-old daughter, seen here with her mother in a recent photo, also died in the crash
Adina’s adoptive parents are prominent GOP donors, John and Barbara Rumpel, shown with Trump in March 2020
Barbara Rumpel announced the death of her daughter and granddaughter yesterday
It is very likely that the cabin pressure is lost or that the pilot has become incapacitated. He could have had a heart attack or something like that, but judging by the fact that no emergency calls have been made by any of the passengers we know, I’m leaning more towards loss of cabin pressure.
“It usually happens on older planes,” Kyle Bailey, a former FAA Safety Team representative, told DailyMail.com.
The Cessna involved was a Cessna Citation V 560 manufactured in 1990. It was owned by the company run by John and Barbara Rumpel, adoptive parents of Adina, who confirmed her death and that of her daughter.
An aircraft manufactured that long ago would be considered old in aviation terms, Bailey said.
“It wouldn’t have the latest and greatest technology, the planes really evolved around the year 2000, that’s when the technology got really crazy,” Bailey said.
Such aircraft have a ‘complicated’ network of pressure relief valves that could be faulty. It may have come on suddenly or gradually.
An interior of a Cessna Citation V560, the same type of plane that crashed yesterday
The Cessna tumbled at a terrifying speed of 28,000 feet per minute when it ran out of fuel
“When you’re up there it can take seconds, but when it’s really slow it can manifest as slowly as if you get tired, and eventually you pass out.”
“It’s interesting, it probably happened pretty quickly because if the pilot felt sick or even a little sick, he would probably want to land at a closer airport.”
By the time the F-16s were coded, the plane likely ran out of fuel, he said.
“The timing is actually perfect. The crash was about an hour after flying over Islip and there is about 45 minutes of fuel reserve, so that fits perfectly with the theory that the fuel ran out.
Coincidentally, he ran out of fuel when he got in [the DC] zone.’
At 15:20 the F-16 jets were airborne.
At 3:22 p.m., the Cessna crashed into St Mary’s Wilderness in the Shenandoah Valley.
The impact was so strong that it left a ‘crater’ in the ground.
“That rate of descent, 2,800 feet per minute, that’s everyone’s worst nightmare,” Bailey said.
“But they probably wouldn’t have been conscious, so it wouldn’t have been painful for anyone.
Azarian was described by colleagues as an “iconic” real estate agent who worked out of the Hamptons and New York City
Two F-16 jets from Joint Base Andrews approached the jet and tried to get the pilot’s attention, but he was unconscious
He added that it was too early to rule out the possibility that the pilot was incapacitated on his own and that the others on board simply did not know how to raise the alarm.
Azarian, 49, was a successful real estate agent in New York City and the Hamptons.
She ran her own business for many years, but had recently found success at Keller Williams.
In an internal memo obtained by DailyMail.com, the company described her as “iconic.”
“It is with a heavy heart and deep sorrow that we bring to you the tragic news of the untimely passing of our dear colleague, Adina Azarian, and her daughter, Aria. We are devastated by this great loss and would like to reach out to inform you and express our deepest condolences,” the spokesperson said.
“Adina was an exceptional member of our Keller Williams Points North team, as well as the original team leader of Keller Williams NYC, known for her dedication, professionalism and warm spirit.
“Her vibrant personality and unwavering dedication to her clients set her apart in the real estate industry.
“Adina’s passion for her work and her genuine concern for others touched the lives of many, making her an invaluable asset to our team at Keller Williams Points North.
“She will be sorely missed.”
Friends told local Hamptons news outlet 27 East how she fought to get Aria and raise her as a single mother.
“Her daughter was her world – she was such a loving mother and they were so happy. I was friends with her when she was pregnant and she was so excited to have gotten pregnant and then had this beautiful little girl.
‘I’m still so shocked. I just saw her at the supermarket and she was so happy. I can’t believe she’s gone.’