A small plane flew in circles over the Gulf of Mexico for nearly three hours before crashing into the water. The plane had been scheduled to fly to Florida from Louisiana, but the pilot, Dr. Peter Hertzak, lost consciousness.
Radio contact with Dr. Hertzak was lost by air traffic controllers at 9 am Thursday. Three hours afterwards the Cessna 421 twin-engine plane crashed into the Gulf. The controllers tried on many occasions to contact Hertzak, but were unable. They also dispatched two F-15 fighters to try to contact the plane.
The fighter jets could not establish any contact with the plane’s pilot, as ice and fog obscured the view into the windows of the Cessna. Experts said the plane might have lost its cabin pressure thereby causing Hertzak to become unconscious.
A plane, helicopter and cutter were dispatched by the Coast Guard to the site of the crash about 120 miles off the coast of Tampa, Florida. However, the pilot did not emerge from the wreckage. After initialling floating, the plane then sank in water believed to be more than 1,500 feet deep.
The incident is similar to what happened in 1999 when golfer Payne Stewart and five other people died when a chartered plane they were flying in, lost cabin pressure and flew for over four hours until it crashed in a field.
