(NationRise.com) – A private jet fatally crashed in the woods near a small airport in rural Virginia on March 10. Police authorities said that five people who were aboard died in the accident, including a child.
The small jet, a twin-engine IAI Astra 1125, went down amid trees near a Hot Springs airport road in the Allegheny Mountains at 3 p.m. Authorities added that police and emergency responders immediately converged on the site of the accident. Hot Springs is approximately 265 kilometers west of the state’s capital city, Richmond.
In a statement, state police Sergeant Rick Garletts said that the small private jet caught fire right after it crashed. He added that police investigators are currently working to determine where the plane was flying to but knew that the origin of the flight was Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Garletts also explained that the crash site was small and that “everything” was burnt,” which meant that the tail numbers were “unidentifiable.”
Moreover, the sergeant said that the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were working with state police to properly identify every single flight detail, including the identities of the occupants. According to some reports, the two agencies published two separate statements, none of which gave preliminary information on the circumstances of the accident.
As reported by British tabloid The Daily Mail, the five victims were a family of five, which included 43-year-old Victor Dotsenko, his 39-year-old wife Rimma, and their three children. These were 11-year-old David, 10-year-old Adam, and seven-year-old Emma.
The media outlet also said that Dotsenko was the one piloting the small jet and even published cockpit audio where he can be heard frantically warning air traffic control that the plane’s engine “turned off.” The father of three could also be heard saying that he was going to land the jet. However, he also said he didn’t know where he was going to do it and yelled he didn’t think they were going to make it as they were “too far away.”
Copyright 2024, NationRise.com
