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A lack of oxygen likely incapacitated the pilot of a private jet that crashed in Virginia in 2023
- On June 4, 2023, a Cessna Citation piloted by Jeff Hefner crashed near Montebello, Virginia, killing four onboard including the pilot and three passengers.
- The accident followed the pilot's loss of communication after takeoff from Elizabethton, Tennessee, likely due to hypoxia caused by cabin pressurization loss, according to NTSB findings.
- The private plane registered to Encore Motors, based in Melbourne, Florida, flew approximately 300 miles on autopilot before being intercepted by F-16 fighter jets—whose sonic boom was heard across the region—and ultimately crashed into a wooded area, creating a crater.
- The pilot, 69-year-old retired airline captain Jeff Hefner with nearly 35,000 flight hours, had medical conditions but no evidence showed high incapacitation risk; maintenance records revealed numerous unresolved issues including oxygen equipment.
- The NTSB concluded that altitude-related hypoxia likely incapacitated those onboard, impairing judgment, awareness, and reaction, and that failure to maintain supplemental oxygen contributed to the fatal crash.
36 Articles
36 Articles
NTSB report released on 2023 fatal crash that took off from Elizabethton
The NTSB has released its report on the accident in June 2023. The Cessna Citation 560 V that killed the pilot and all three passengers took off at Elizabethton Municipal Airport, went to Long Island, then turned around and scrambled U.S. Air Force Fighers over Washington D.C. airspace and then crashed in the mountains of Virginia.
NTSB releases report on 2023 plane crash in that killed four after leaving Elizabethton
NELSON COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its Aviation Investigation Final Report into the plane crash that killed four people at a remote location near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Nelson County, Virginia in June 2023. The plane departed from Elizabethton Municipal Airport and was bound for New York. The NTSB said the cause of the crash was pilot incapacitation due to loss of cabin pressurization lead…
After Pilot Lost Consciousness, Plane Likely Continued on Autopilot Until Crash That Killed 4, Including Mom and Child: NTSB
Adina Azarian, 49, Aria Azarian, 2, Evadnie Smith, 56, and Jeff Hefner, 69, died in the crash on June 4, 2023Adina Azarian/Facebook Adina Azarian and daughter, Aria.Nearly two years after a private jet crashed in Virginia, killing four, the National Transportation Safety Board released their final report into the accidentAlthough investigators were not able to determine a likely cause for the crash, several questions remain unansweredThe victims…
A Lack of Oxygen Likely Incapacitated the Pilot of a Private Jet that Crashed in Virginia in 2023
A lack of oxygen that incapacitated the pilot and three passengers is likely what caused a private jet to become unresponsive before flying over the nation’s capital and prompting the military to scramble fighter jets in 2023.
Oxygen Deprivation Causes Fatal Cessna Crash: The U.S. Military's Swift Response
Oxygen Deprivation Causes Fatal Cessna Crash: The U.S. Military's Swift Response An investigation has determined that oxygen deprivation likely incapacitated the pilot of a Cessna Citation 560 in June 2023, leading to a crash in Virginia after F-16 fighter jets were deployed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) disclosed these findings in a final report released on Tuesday.The aircraft, owned by an undisclosed operator, reportedly ha…
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