Hypoxia May Have Caused Crash Of A Socata
TBM-700 Off The Coast Of
Jamaica
September 5, 2014 - On Friday, the North
American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
scrambled two F-15 fighter jets at 11:30 AM
after a Socata TBM-700 aircraft (N900KN) pilot
became unresponsive to FAA air traffic
controllers (ATC).
The Socata TBM-700, a pressurized light business
aircraft had departed
Rochester, New
York at 8:26 AM with a flight plan
filed to land in Naples, Florida
around noontime.
The last ATC communications
with the pilot was about 10 AM when the pilot
reported he was having some type of problem, he
was cleared to descend from 28,000 feet to
25,000 feet.
ATC asked the pilot if he wanted to declare an
emergency, the pilot said not at this time. ATC
then cleared the pilot to 20,000 feet but they
never got a response back.
The F-15 pilots
reported the pilot in the Socata TBM-700 was
unresponsive, slumped over, appeared to be
unconscious but alive and the windows of the
aircraft were frosted.
Listen to ATC and pilot exchange
(N900KN)
The single-engine turboprop aircraft continued
to follow a straight line traveling at 300 MPH
at 25,000 feet out over the Atlantic Ocean
passing over Cuba and then crashing off the
coast of Jamaica, 14 miles NE of Port Antonio.
It is believed that the aircrafts pressurization
failed and the pilot and passenger had succumbed
to hypoxia (insufficient oxygen). The Socata
TBM-700 was based at Greater Rochester
International Airport and owned by developer
Larry Glazer who took possession of the 2014
aircraft back in March. Glazer, was president of
the TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA).
A US Coast Guard C-130 out of Clearwater, Florida
along with Jamaica Civil Aviation have reached
the crash site and there were no signs anyone
survived the crash.
The C-130 aircrew located several small objects in the
water. The aircrew deployed three smoke flares
and two data marker buoys to mark the location
for Jamaican Defense Force boat crews.There were two people
onboard the Socata TBM-700, pilot, Larry Glazer
who was piloting the aircraft and his wife, Jane
Glazer. Larry Glazer held a commercial pilot
certificate with an instrument rating.
Update September 7,
2014 - The Coast Guard suspended their search Sunday at
approximately 11 a.m. Coast Guard rescue crews from
Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans and Coast Guard
Station New Orleans conducted more than eight hours of
searches covering 155 square miles.
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