Accident Overview
On June 4, 2023, at 1523 eastern daylight time, a Cessna Citation 560 airplane, registration N611VG, was destroyed in an accident near Montebello, Virginia. The airline transport pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Flight History
The accident aircraft began its day at Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Florida, departing at 1059 with only the pilot aboard. It landed at Elizabethton Municipal Airport (0A9), Tennessee, at 1231. At 0A9, 300 gallons of fuel were added and three passengers boarded. The flight departed at 1313 for Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), New York.
Inflight Events
Air traffic control recordings show that after takeoff, the pilot contacted Atlanta Center and reported climbing through 9,300 ft mean sea level (msl) to 10,000 ft msl. The controller cleared the airplane to 23,000 ft, which the pilot acknowledged. At 1322, the pilot was handed off to another controller and advised maintaining 23,000 ft. The controller cleared the airplane to 29,000 ft, then to 34,000 ft; the pilot read back each clearance. At 1328, the controller amended the clearance to stop at 33,000 ft for crossing traffic. The pilot did not respond, and the airplane continued to 34,000 ft and leveled off. No further radio transmissions from the pilot were received despite repeated attempts. ADS-B data showed the flight followed its filed route, arriving overhead ISP at 1432 at 34,000 ft. The airplane then turned southwest and maintained altitude until 1522, when it entered a rapidly descending right spiral into terrain.
Interception
About 1520, the airplane was intercepted by USAF fighter aircraft. The USAF pilots reported no remarkable exterior features such as holes or missing windows; no airframe icing, frost, or smoke were observed. They saw a person in the left cockpit seat, slumped over into the right seat, motionless. The person did not respond to radio calls, intercept maneuvers, or flare deployments. It was unclear whether the person wore a headset or oxygen mask, and no lights were noted in the cockpit. Passenger window shades were open, and no movement or shapes resembling people were seen in the cabin.
Wreckage Examination
The airplane impacted mountainous, forested terrain about 1.5 miles north of the Montebello VOR. The debris field was small with tree limbs severed at an angle consistent with a high-velocity, near-vertical descent. Wreckage was fragmented around a main crater with evidence of a postimpact fire. One engine was relatively intact 100 ft downhill; the other was fragmented. Both engines had blades bent opposite the direction of rotation. Flight control continuity could not be established. A cockpit voice recorder was not recovered. The oxygen high pressure relief valve overboard discharge indicator was intact. A bleed air flow valve and ducting sections were found. Two passenger oxygen masks remained attached to their box assemblies; one oxygen mask stowage/dropout box assembly had its shutoff valve capped with a dust cap instead of an approved AN cap. No other major oxygen or pressurization system components were located. No evidence of preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions was found that would have precluded normal operation.
Oxygen System and Maintenance
The airplane's environmental control system used engine bleed air for pressurization and air conditioning. Flight crew controls included a guarded emergency dump switch for pressurization outflow valves. A red "CAB ALT 10,000 FEET" light would illuminate at cabin altitudes above 10,000 ft, triggering the master warning system. Supplementary oxygen was provided to flight crew via sweep-on masks and to passengers via continuous flow masks from a single 76 cubic ft bottle in the tailcone. Maintenance records showed five overdue items on the accident date, including an inspection of the co-pilot oxygen mask. A May 10, 2023, discrepancy report listed 26 items, which the airplane owner declined to address. On June 1, the pilot reported avionics issues; during a June 2 inspection, a mechanic noted the pilot-side oxygen mask was not installed and the oxygen level was at minimum servicing before departure. The airplane flight manual required oxygen mask checks and specific oxygen system steps before flight.