Footage of the moment a fighter jet escorted a “ghost plane” that flew for two hours before crashing into the Baltic Sea on Sunday emerged today when body parts were discovered by a search team.
The jet flew unmanned over northern Germany and out over the sea before crashing around 20 miles off the Latvian coast after running out of fuel.
Aviation experts said all four passengers on board the private plane passed out, likely due to a drop in pressure.
NATO jets struggled to intercept the plane, which stopped responding to air traffic controllers’ calls after problems in the cabin were reported but could not see or contact anyone in the cockpit, German tabloid Bild reported.
The Latvian Navy announced on Tuesday that body parts had been discovered in the area of the Baltic Sea where the plane crashed. “We have found several body parts that could be among the missing,” spokeswoman Liva Veita told Norway’s TV2.
Footage of the moment a fighter jet escorted a “ghost plane” that flew for two hours before crashing into the Baltic Sea on Sunday emerged today (pictured) as body parts were discovered by a search team scouring the crash site
The jet flew unmanned over northern Germany and out over the sea before crashing around 20 miles off the Latvian coast after running out of fuel
The plane made two turns, in Paris and Cologne, before flying straight over the Baltic Sea, passing the Swedish island of Gotland. It spiraled downward before falling
Latvia’s announcement came as video emerged from underground showing the moment a warplane intercepted the private plane as it sped over Germany and towards the Baltic Sea.
The sleek Austrian-registered Cessna 551 aircraft, seen in the footage with a blue underbelly, flies alongside a fighter jet with red markings.
The fighter plane tried to make contact with the Cessna, which at the time was flying directly ahead without anyone at the controls. The fighter can be seen to the left of the private plane leaving a vapor trail.
According to the picture, it was still unclear at the time the video was recorded what was going on on board. A fighter jet pilot reported seeing movement in the cabin but no one in the cockpit, and the pilot never received a response to their calls.
Shortly after takeoff from the Spanish city of Jerez on Sunday afternoon, air traffic controllers lost contact with the private plane carrying four people.
Authorities in Latvia said Monday that a search and rescue operation has so far found no sign of survivors from the small plane that crashed off the country’s coast.
Peteris Subbota, head of the Latvian military’s Sea Rescue Coordination Center, told Latvian radio on Monday that part of the plane had been found in the sea. On Tuesday, the Latvian Navy reported the discovery of body parts. They’ve located parts of the plane.
Karl-Peter Griesemann, 72, pictured with his wife Juliane, has been named as the pilot of the plane that crashed near Latvia yesterday
Also on board the Austrian-registered Cessna 551 were daughter Lisa, 26, a trained pilot and enthusiastic rider, and her boyfriend Paul (pictured together).
A German merchant who ran one of the oldest carnival clubs in Cologne was named as the pilot of the system on Monday.
Karl-Peter Griesemann, 72, the head of the private air rescue company Quick Air, was flying from Jerez in Spain to Cologne when he was diverted to the Baltic Sea and whirled into the water near Latvia, according to the picture.
Also on board the Cessna 551 were his wife Juliane, daughter Lisa, 26, who is a trained pilot, and her boyfriend Paul.
The family was in southern Spain where they have a lavish holiday home and they returned to their main home in Cologne.
Mr. Griesmann was also head of the Griesmann Group based in Cologne, specializing in construction projects and large industrial plants, and President of the annual Cologne Carnival, one of the largest in Germany.
“I can confirm that it was our owner Karl-Peter Griesemann’s private jet,” a spokesman for Quick Air said.
The Austrian-registered Cessna 551 flew from Jerez in southern Spain. file image
The family was in southern Spain where they have a lavish holiday home and they returned to their main home in Cologne
Planes from several countries and a passenger ferry headed for the crash site on Sunday evening to help with the rescue operation.
A wreckage, a concentrated patch of debris and an oil-like layer were sighted near the crash site, Latvian search and rescue chief Peteris Subbota told Latvian TV, adding that no passengers were found.
The jet “was flying between Spain and Cologne, but when it changed course, air traffic controllers could not establish contact,” Latvia’s civil aviation authority said in a statement.
After taking off from Jerez, southern Spain, just before 3 p.m., the plane made two turns, in Paris and Cologne, before flying directly over the Baltic Sea, passing the Swedish island of Gotland.
Mr. Griesmann was president of the annual Cologne carnival, one of the largest in Germany
Shortly after 7:30 p.m., the flight tracker recorded that it was rapidly losing speed and altitude.
“We have learned that the plane crashed (in the ocean) northwest of the city of Ventspils in Latvia,” said a spokesman for the Swedish Ambulance Service.
“It’s gone off the radar.”
Authorities said the plane “ran out of fuel” which caused it to crash into the Baltic Sea.
The Swedish Maritime Administration dispatched lifeboats, planes and a helicopter to the crash site, with the country’s coastguard confirming the wreckage has been found.
Mr Antonsson said his chance of finding survivors of the crash was “minimal”.
Latvian and Swedish rescue and coastguard vessels patrolled the crash site and a nearby passenger ferry was alerted to help with the effort.
A Lithuanian Air Force helicopter was also dispatched to search and rescue at the request of neighboring Latvia, a Lithuanian Air Force spokesman said.
They added that the fighter jets came from the NATO Baltic Air Police mission at Amari airfield in Estonia.
According to NATO, the mission at the air force base currently consists of four Eurofighter jets from the German Air Force. The announcer did not say how many jets there were or comment further.