WASHINGTON (AP) — Two F-15 fighter jets were following a private
plane over the Atlantic Ocean Friday after its pilot failed to respond
to repeated contact attempts by air traffic controllers, government
officials said.
Air traffic controllers were last able to contact the pilot of the
Socata TBM700, a high performance single-engine turboprop, at 10 a.m.
EDT, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The plane
took off at 8:45 a.m. EDT from the Greater Rochester International
Airport. The pilot, who was not identified, had filed a flight plan with
the FAA to fly from Rochester, New York, to Naples, Florida.
The fighter jets were launched at 11:30 a.m. EDT Friday, said Preston
Schlachter, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense
Command & U.S. Northern Command. Flightaware, an aviation tracking
website, showed the plane over the Caribbean at about 2 p.m. EDT.
The incident marks the second time in less than a week that private
pilot has become unresponsive during a flight. On Saturday, a pilot lost
consciousness and his plane drifted into restricted airspace over the
nation's capital. Fighter jets were also launched in that case and
stayed with the small aircraft until it ran out of fuel and crashed
Saturday into the Atlantic.
Source
Jamaican officials say unresponsive US plane has crashed off the coast.