A private aeroplane has crashed into the sea off the coast of Jamaica after efforts to contact those on board failed.
The plane crashed into the sea 22km north-east of Port Antonio at around 14:15 (18:15 GMT), according to Jamaican officials, and both Jamaica and the US have dispatched Coast Guard planes and ships to investigate the scene.
The Socata TBM-700 plane took off from Rochester, new York at 08:26 (12:26 GMT) en route to Naples, Florida, carrying husband and wife Larry and Jane Glazer, both licensed pilots.
The plane failed to respond to air traffic control at 10:00 (14:00 GMT), and the US scrambled two F-15 fighter jets from McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Richland County, South Carolina, to investigate the situation.
However, the fighter pilots were unable to see into the plane cockpit as the windows were frosted over or fogged up, and the US jets broke off from the unresponsive plane after it entered Cuban air space at 13:28 (18:28 GMT).
The two F-15s returned to base to refuel with an aim of reconnecting with the unresponsive plane as it exited Cuban air space, but it crashed before this was possible, according to a North American Aerospace Command (Norad) spokesperson.
The plane was flying at an altitude of 25,000 feet southbound over the Caribbean Sea, when it disappeared off radar screens and is believed to have crashed.
1 Comment
Hi,
“Mysterious unresponsive private plane crashes off Jamaica coast” Yes a strange event the plane apparently entered Cuban air space which ask many questions.