A private jet carrying four people that was scheduled to land in Germany but continued to fly across Europe while air traffic controllers unsuccessfully attempted to make contact crashed into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia on Sunday, according to authorities.
Karl-Peter Griesemann, a prominent German businessman, was aboard the aircraft with three others, according to a spokeswoman for Cologne-based aviation leasing company Quick Air. The local newspaper Express said that Griesemann was the pilot and was accompanied by his wife, daughter, and the boyfriend of his daughter.
Karl-Peter Griesemann, a prominent supporter of the Cologne Carnival, is seen here in 2004 wearing a carnival costume. Peter Bischoff/Getty Images
The aircraft “was travelling between Spain and Cologne, but when it changed course, air traffic authorities were unable to make touch,” according to a statement from the Latvian civil aviation agency.
As the Austrian-registered plane continued to fly over northern Europe, fighter jets from Germany, Denmark, and Sweden were dispatched to make contact with the crew in the air, but “they spotted no one,” Swedish search and rescue mission head Lars Antonsson told AFP.
According to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the jet took off from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, at 2:56 p.m.
A Cessna 551 from Jerez was meant to land in Cologne, but the pilot did not respond to ATC instructions and the aircraft continued to fly on autopilot until it lost altitude and crashed into the Baltic Sea near the Latvian coast. https://t.co/iIVNoMNksW pic.twitter.com/klQQosArTg
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 4, 2022
Just before 8:00 p.m., a Cessna 551 flew across Swedish airspace in the Baltic Sea before crashing into the water off Ventspils (1800 GMT).
The aircraft flew pretty steadily until it approached the shore of Latvia, at which point it abruptly dropped altitude.
It crashed because it ran out of gasoline, according to Antonsson.
The Latvian aviation agency reported that rescue crews including boats and helicopters from Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden are at the disaster site. The agency told the BBC that they believe they have found three parts of the plane.
The network said that spokesperson Liva Veita verified prior allegations that oil had been spotted in the vicinity.
Antonsson adds, “No human remains were discovered.”
Unknown is the cause of the plane’s deviant flight.
“We have no answer, we can only assume” about what transpired, according to Antonsson, “but they were obviously disabled on board.”
Griesemann was a famous member of the Cologne Carnival, according to the BBC, and the carnival paid tribute to him on its Facebook page.
Der Kolner Karneval trauert um Peter Griesemann, Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender des Festkomitees Kolner Karneval und…
Kolner Karneval published the item on Monday, September 5, 2022.