A small passenger plane crashed on the Caribbean island of Jamaica Friday afternoon after it's believed the crew lost consciousness.
The plane was reportedly scheduled to fly from Rochester, New York, to Naples, Florida. At around 10 a.m. Eastern time, the Federal Aviation Administration says it stopped responding to calls.
According to NBC, North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, launched two F-15s to track the plane. The fighter jets approached the plane and spotted one of the pilots "unconscious and slumped over."
NORAD says the plane's windows frosted over, which likely indicates the cabin had lost air pressure and the occupants were suffering from hypoxia — that's when the body is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen.
Golfer Payne Stewart died in 1999 in a similar incident after the plane he was traveling on lost pressure on the way to a tournament in Dallas.
Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern, the plane entered Cuban airspace, meaning the NORAD jets had to break off. They picked it back up about an hour later near Jamaica.
The plane dropped off the radar soon after. The Associated Press was the first to report the aircraft had crashed about 14 miles off the coast of the island.
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports the plane is believed to be registered to local businessman Larry Glazer.
Glazer’s son confirmed that report, telling CNBC his father and mother, Jane, were the only two people on the six-passenger plane.
Although many outlets are reporting the plane was a Socata TBM-700, this report from AINOnline would suggest it was actually a TBM-900, an upgraded model. Glazer was the first person to purchase the new model, at a price of $3.7 million.
