Fighter jets from Germany, Denmark and Sweden battled to intercept a private plane that flew erratically and crashed into the Baltic Sea
A private Cessna plane flew across Europe before mysteriously crashing into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia. On September 4, the aircraft departed from the Spanish city of Jerez to Cologne in Germany.
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According to German daily Bild, the plane reported a cabin pressurization problem immediately after takeoff. Officials later lost radio communication with the plane, and fighter jets from Germany, Denmark and Sweden scrambled to intercept it.
The plane “was flying between Spain and Cologne, but when it changed course, air traffic controllers were unable to make contact,” the Latvian civil aviation authority said said. Thousands of people tracked the Austrian-registered Cessna Citation online as it flew for two hours as a “ghost plane”.
A Cessna 551 flying from Jerez was due to land in Cologne but the pilot did not respond to ATC calls and the aircraft continued to fly on autopilot in a straight line before losing altitude and crashing into the Baltic Sea near the Latvian coast https://t.co/iIVNoMNksW pic.twitter.com/klQQosArTg
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 4, 2022
Spain issued the first warning about the aircraft, stating that there may have been problems pushing the aircraft, That’s what the French Air Force said. As the plane continued to fly over northern Europe, the fighter jets made an attempt to make contact with the crew, “but they didn’t see anyone.”
The aircraft made two turns at Paris and Cologne before traveling straight out over the Baltic Sea and passing close to the Swedish island of Gotland. The plane eventually crashed into the sea around 19:00 CEST “when it ran out of fuel,” Swedish rescue chief Lars Antonsson told AFP.
Rescue and coastguard vessels from Latvia and Sweden were dispatched to patrol the crash site, while a nearby passenger ferry was dispatched to assist in the response. Swedish media reported that debris from the jet was discovered at the site.
A Lithuanian Air Force helicopter was sent to the crash site for search and rescue at the request of Latvia, a Lithuanian Air Force official said. A Latvian Navy spokesperson also said they had sent their ships to the crash site.
Who was on board the private plane?
German businessman Karl-Peter Griesemann owned the private jet, his company Quick Air, said on September 5.
“I can confirm that it was the private jet of our owner, Karl-Peter Griesemann,” said a spokesperson for Quick Air, an air charter company based in Cologne.
The Cologne newspaper Express reported that Griesemann was the pilot and that he was accompanied by his wife, daughter and his daughter’s boyfriend.
However, the spokesman declined to verify the report. Griesemann is well known in Cologne, the largest city in western Germany, where he participates in the city’s fervently Catholic annual carnival celebrations.
The cause of the incident is not yet known. According to aviation safety expert Hans Kjäll, who spoke to the Swedish news agency TT, press questions could have led to the passengers losing consciousness. He noted that this can happen very quickly, especially at altitudes where small aircraft fly.
Three small vessels and a helicopter from Latvia were sent to the crash site. Maritime Rescue Service of Latvia (MRCC) told the BBC“We found three parts of the plane, we think – experts must say.”
MRCC spokesperson Liva Veita also stated that they had not found the trace of people on board the Cessna. She also confirmed earlier reports that oil had been found there.
According to to a Lithuanian Air Force spokesperson who spoke to Reuters, NATO warplanes had also taken off from the Amari airfield in Estonia to pursue the private plane. Still, they could see no one in the Cessna’s cockpit.
NATO stated that four German Air Force Eurofighter planes were operating out of the air base. The spokesman did not provide further comment or give an estimate of the number of jets sent to the mission.
The Cessna 551 is a popular twin jet small aircraft with a range of approximately 23,000 miles. A crew of two can travel at a speed of under 500 mph with up to eight passengers.
The aircraft made its first flight in 1978 and production ceased in 2006. Apart from a role in commercial aviation, various military units worldwide also use this type of aircraft. Spain, Sweden and the USA have different aircraft versions in their military fleets.