The pilot of a small plane twice sought
permission to fly at a lower altitude before he slumped over the
controls, apparently unconscious as the plane flew for more than four
hours before crashing into the sea off the coast of Jamaica.
But
when asked by air traffic controllers if he wanted to declare an
emergency, which would have made his request to descend a priority, the
pilot said no, sources told ABC News. Shortly after that call, the pilot
stopped responding. Alarm over the plane that would not respond to
radio calls prompted the Air Force to send two F-15 jets to shadow the
plane. At one point one of the military pilots can be heard saying that
the pilot of the turboprop was unconscious, but he appeared to be
breathing.
"I can see his chest
rising and falling. Right before I left, it was the first time we could
see that he was actually breathing," the pilot said. The turboprop was
flown by Larry Glazer and his wife Jane Glazer of Rochester, New York.
They were en route from Rochester to Naples, Florida.
Ken Glazer, the son of Larry and Jane Glazer of Rochester, told ABC affiliate WHAM
that his parents were the only two people on board the plane. The
aircraft stopped responding to radio calls at 10 a.m. ET, according to a
statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Plane
Crash Victims Larry and Jane Glazer Remembered as Community Pioneers
What Happens When a Plane's Cabin Depressurizes The plane was flying at
28,000 feet at 10 a.m. when the pilot radioed air traffic controllers
seeking permission to descend to 18,000 feet because of an issue with
the plane, according to a federal official, an aviation source and live
air traffic controller audio. Controllers cleared the plane to descend
to 25,000 feet, but Glazer asked to go even lower, the sources said.
Controllers
denied him permission to fly lower because of traffic below, but
instructed Glazer to turn left so he could get out of traffic and then
descend. Glazer made the left turn, but when controllers then gave him
clearance to drop to 20,000 feet he had stopped responding, the sources
said.
Aviation expert and ABC News
consultant John Nance said the pilot’s requests to get to a lower
altitude and his debilitation “clearly shows a progressive hypoxic
situation,” a condition in which the body does not get an adequate
supply of oxygen.
Nance said it
wasn’t clear whether the pilot was incapacitated by the rapid
depressurization of the cabin or fumes in the cockpit. Lack of oxygen
could have affected Glazer's judgement when he told controllers there
was no need to declare an emergency just moments before he passed out.
The
plane flew on down the Atlantic coast, crossed over Cuba and apparently
ran out of fuel and crashed off the coast of Jamaica about 2:15 p.m.
The fighter jets followed the plane until it reached Cuban airspace. The
jets were initially supposed to fly around Cuba’s eastern end and wait
in international airspace to pick up the trail, officials said. But the
planes instead returned to base to refuel.
Glazer
was CEO and managing partner of Buckingham Properties and pioneered
Rochester's downtown development. Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren said
the city would fly flags at half mast for the Glazers as well as Police
Officer Daryl Pierson, who was shot in the line of duty.
"It
is difficult to put into words how much Larry Glazer has meant to our
community," the mayor said. "Larry worked hard to return a sense of
vitality and excitement to our Center City. His efforts helped to lift
our spirits and restore our sense of optimism. He has been a treasured
friend and partner." The FAA reported the plane to be a Socata TBM-700,
while FlightAware said it believes the aircraft is a TBM-900.
A
U.S. Coast Guard C-130 will look for the plane's wreckage, an official
said. Jamaica said a search and rescue team had been dispatched to the
area.
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