NTSB Details Unresponsive Citation 560’s Fatal Flight over DC Region

Federal officials provide detailed information about the fatal flight of an unresponsive private jet over the Washington, D.C. region. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary findings, revealing that the Cessna Citation 560 flew for hours with an unresponsive crew near major cities and highly restricted airspace. The incident occurred earlier this month and raised concerns about aviation safety.

According to the NTSB report, flight controllers lost contact with the Cessna shortly after its departure from Elizabethton, Tennessee. The last radio exchange with pilot Jeff Hefner occurred 15 minutes after takeoff when discussing flight level clearance. Subsequently, the aircraft relied solely on computer guidance for an hour until it reached its intended destination of Long Island, New York.

With no one able to take control and perform a landing, the Cessna circled to the southwest at an altitude of 34,000 feet for over 300 miles. This route brought it dangerously close to major cities such as New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and ultimately over Washington, D.C. The plane’s autopilot system unexpectedly approached Long Island, making a 180-degree turn and continuing its flight path.

To address the uncommunicative aircraft, two F-16 jets were scrambled from Joint Base Andrews, resulting in a sonic boom that startled residents in Northern Virginia, Washington, and Maryland. Despite multiple attempts to establish contact through radio transmissions, flight maneuvers, and flare deployments, the NTSB reported all efforts failed. Eventually, it is believed that the plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the Blue Ridge Mountains south of Staunton, Virginia.

Tragically, there were four people on board the aircraft, including pilot Jeff Hefner, a caretaker from Jamaica, a real estate broker, and her 2-year-old daughter. None of them survived the crash. Hefner was an experienced pilot with an extensive aviation history of 25 years and nearly 35,000 flight hours, including 850 hours logged in the Cessna 500 series.

Investigators are now examining whether a catastrophic event related to the plane’s oxygen or pressurization system led to the occupants’ incapacitation. An F-16 pilot reported seeing the Cessna’s pilot unconscious and slumped over in the cockpit. However, the extensive destruction of the aircraft complicates the search for definitive answers. The wreckage is described as “extremely fragmented” and scattered around a charred crater in the woods.

Despite ongoing efforts, the cockpit voice recorder has not yet been recovered from the crash site. The NTSB also noted that the private jet did not have a flight data recorder, as it was not a requirement. In addition to analyzing debris, investigators are relying on maintenance inspection records and air traffic control audio recordings to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the tragedy.