MONTEBELLO, Va. – The cockpit voice recorder that could hold the final moments leading up to the fatal crash of a plane in Central Virginia remains missing, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
On Wednesday afternoon, the NTSB released a preliminary report on the plane crash that killed four people in Montebello on June 4. That report did not conclude what exactly led to the crash, but did provide further details.
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The Cessna Citation 560 plane was headed for Long Island Mac Arthur Airport when it eventually stopped responding to the air traffic controller, according to the report. The last recorded response from the pilot to the air traffic controller was at 1:25 p.m. when the plane received clearance to fly climb to 34,000 feet from its current altitude of 28,000 feet.
Three minutes later, the controller told the pilot to stop at 33,000 feet for crossing air traffic, but the pilot did not respond and continued its climb to 34,000 feet. According to NTSB, no further radio transmissions from the pilot were received for the rest of the flight, despite repeated attempts to get in touch.
According to Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast data, the plane’s flight track to its destination was consistent with the flight plan. The report states that the plane showed little deviation from that plan or altitude change until 3:22 p.m., where the plane went into a rapidly descending right spiral into terrain.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) released a statement, saying that at around 3:20 p.m., the plane was intercepted by fighter aircraft and that “the pilot was unresponsive to several radio transmissions, intercept flight maneuvers and flare deployments.”
The report went on to say that when the wreckage was found, the cockpit was destroyed on impact. Fragments of both of the wings, fuselage, empennage, and both engines were found in the debris field — but the cockpit voice recorder was not found.
You can read the full report below:
NTSB Prelim Report on June 4 Crash by WSLS on Scribd