On Sunday a Virginia plane crash shook the nation’s capital. And experts are considering pilot hypoxia as a leading theory behind the tragic incident.
An unresponsive private jet veered off course and flew over restricted airspace in Washington, D.C. NORAD scrambled fighter jets who tried to get the pilot’s attention. But he seemed unresponsive before crashing in Virginia’s St. Mary’s Wilderness area. All four people on the plane lost their lives.
As the Virginia-bound plane spiraled downwards in a rapid descent, it plummeted at a rate exceeding 30,000 feet per minute before crashing.
Experts suggest that fuel exhaustion likely contributed to the crash. The fact that the pilot did not respond suggests he was incapacitated in-flight. The aircraft’s sudden descent and the absence of a substantial fire at the crash site confirm the theory.
The tragic crash also seemed to mirror previous accidents caused by pressurization issues.
It’s happened before
The aviation community has witnessed incidents involving hypoxia in the past.
