AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) — The Virginia State Police (VSP) said crews have begun recovery efforts and collecting evidence following a private plane crash in a remote area on Sunday.
The crash happened shortly after the Cessna Citation, which was bound for New York after leaving the Elizabethton Airport, prompted a military response by flying over Washington D.C., prompting F-16 jets to respond. Jet pilots later discovered that the Cessna’s pilot was unconscious.
An update from the VSP said police and a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) representative returned to the crash site Monday morning, which is in a densely wooded area more than a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway in Augusta County, Virginia.
The VSP confirmed that three people and a pilot were on board the plane. Any recovered remains will be sent to a medical examiner for identification due to the severity of the crash, the release said, and those names will not be made public until next of kin are notified.
While the names have not been released, the aircraft’s owner, John Rumpel, reportedly told The New York Times that his daughter, 2-year-old granddaughter and nanny were onboard.
The family was visiting Rumpel at a home in North Carolina before traveling back to MacArthur Airport on Long Island in New York.
News Channel 11 spoke to the manager of the Elizabethton Municipal Airport about the crash.
He said the family had landed in Elizabethton in the Cessna Citation three times, including its final flight.
He said everything was routine as the plane re-fueled and departed Sunday.
The NTSB continues to lead the investigation and will provide any further updates regarding the crash, according to the VSP.
