Mystery surrounds small plane crash carrying prominent upstate couple

AP/Newsday ^ | 9-6-14

[Vaquero]

KINGSTON, Jamaica - A search-and-rescue operation resumed at first light Saturday off Jamaica's northeast coast as crews hope to solve the mystery of a small private plane carrying a prominent upstate New York couple who were taken on a ghostly 1,700-mile journey after the pilot was apparently incapacitated at the controls.

[Vaquero]

Payne Stewart analogy....they asked to reduce altitude, they should have declared a mayday and just gone down.

[mountainlion]

Is this a continuation of bankers jumping off of bank towers?

[Cvengr]

Reports I read indicated 2 pilots were up front, and at least one, if not 2 parents in the back of the plane.

The interceptors reported the windows were frosted, but they could see the oxygen masks floating up and down in the cockpit,...apparently being worn by the unconscious, unresponsive pilots, as the plane’s autopilot system kept correcting the flight path until it made a final descent.

The frosted windows indicated they had lost cabin pressure abruptly. I would think a an explanation of how they lost cabin pressure would clarify how the situation evolved.

[yldstrk]

murder suicide by plane

[fivecatsandadog]

No mention of the pilot’s name. Interesting.

[Travis McGee]

JUST GET DOWN. Clear it up later. Mayday on the way.

[CGASMIA68]

why,maybe his relatives haven’t been advsd

[PghBaldy]

Their names re in the article, were all over Twitter and the local news yesterday. He was a real estate developer I think from Rochester NY.

[TADSLOS]

Exactly. First rule of piloting. Fly the aircraft and work your problem. Communicate after.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Twice in less than one week.

[PghBaldy]

The son said yesterday the only people on board were his parents.

[IFly4Him]

Yep - if you fly a plane, you can't have the mentality that you need permission to deal with an emergency. Deal with it promptly and then notify ATC. What happened here was akin to knowing that you're having a heart attack, but rather than call 9-1-1, you call HHS first to get permission to use your Obamacare.

In depressurization scenarios, I've always thought leaving the plane on autopilot was probably the best course of action. Get the power back and set the altitude capture for 10K ft in case you pass out.

[Moonman62]

Larry and Jane Glazer. They were both pilots. He reported an indication of a problem to ATC and requested a lower altitude. There is no foul play or mystery here.

You can listen to the conversation if you want.

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kgso/ZTL-GSO-Sep-05-2014-1400Z.mp3

[Moonman62]

In depressurization scenarios, I’ve always thought leaving the plane on autopilot was probably the best course of action. Get the power back and set the altitude capture for 10K ft in case you pass out.

I think that is formal procedure taught to airline pilots.

In this case the pilot had an indication of a problem. He was probably in denial. With hindsight he should have declared an emergency and descended immediately. He didn’t declare an emergency so the controller took his time giving him a lower altitude.

[oh8eleven]

Reports I read indicated 2 pilots were up front, and at least one, if not 2 parents in the back of the plane.
Larry Glazer, and his wife Jane, were alone in the plane - both were pilots.

[txhurl]

Yesterday while this was happening there were two large Mesoscale Covective Compexes off the coast of SC... if he flew between them and cloud-to-cloud lightning enveloped the plane, maybe the pressurization system’s electronics were fried.

[Sacajaweau]

The couple (husband and wife) in the plane were both long time pilots.

Suicide....naw....these were happy people with lots of new projects on their plates.

[Sacajaweau]

Indeed....This was a super active couple in Rochester NY. This article is very outdated.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Yep when you think you have a problem you need to take action immediately.