Cessna Citation - Montebello, VA - 4 Jun 23

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Does appear to be a classic depressurization accident.

How much does it cost to scramble 6 F-16s?

Virginia plane crash investigators ask when pilot became unresponsive and why aircraft flew its path

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four were killed when an unresponsive plane that flew over the nation’s capital crashed in Virginia, leaving behind “highly fragmented” wreckage in a mountainous area that will take days to gather and sort, federal authorities said Monday.

apnews.com

 

[Jim Logajan]

Does appear to be a classic depressurization accident.

How much does it cost to scramble 6 F-16s?

Virginia plane crash investigators ask when pilot became unresponsive and why aircraft flew its path

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four were killed when an unresponsive plane that flew over the nation’s capital crashed in Virginia, leaving behind “highly fragmented” wreckage in a mountainous area that will take days to gather and sort, federal authorities said Monday.

apnews.com

Well, that turned political pretty quickly:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1665826122141925377

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Does anyone have an idea why it would turn around like that?

 

[Bob Noel]

What does the FMS do when it reaches the end of the programmed flight plan?

 

[Jim Logajan]

What does the FMS do when it reaches the end of the programmed flight plan?

I plugged in N611VG into https://globe.adsbexchange.com/ and overlayed the IFR High Route chart and found that the plane started its turn at the SARDI intersection (you'll need to manually switch the map to IFR Enroute High mode):

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live - aircraft flight history

globe.adsbexchange.com

However the Sectional Chart overlay suggests that the autopilot may have been set to take the plane all the way to the destination airport since it overflies it. The turn appears to first follow V91 until it turns toward the airport. After overflying the airport it appears to be making a straight flight to Elizabethton Muni (0A9) - it's last takeoff point. Not sure if that is intentional or coincidental.

If it went back to takeoff point then the autopilot cycled to the first point in the plan. If it went only so far as to overfly the destination airport then the autopilot simply maintained last course, altitude, and speed and by coincidence that would have taken it to the takeoff point, or somewhere very near it.

 

[Jim Logajan]

From https://apnews.com/article/virginia...=news_tab&mibextid=Zxz2cZ#lil26qj14vvbtjx8q3j:

"Rumpel also said it is common practice for pilots to put their destination, along with an “emergency return destination” into the auto pilot system, which he said would explain why the plane turned around and headed south again once it flew over its destination of MacArthur Airport on Long Island. He said the emergency return destination would have been the airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, where the flight took off from."