A small private jet carrying at least two people, a New York executive and his wife, crashed into the Caribbean sea in north Jamaica on Friday, killing both passengers.
The plane took off from Rochester, New York and bound for Naples, Florida. It was controlled by real estate executive Larry Glazer and accompanied by his entrepreneur wife, Jane.
Minutes before the plane became unresponsive from air traffic control, Glazer reportedly asked permission to fly at a lower altitude twice before he lost consciousness, The Daily Mail reported.
Glazer may have suffered from hypoxia, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said, which happens when oxygen is lacking due to the depressurization of the cabin, CNN reported.
Authorities said the plane had flown four hours since it became unresponsive, prompting U.S. and Cuba to trail it with fighter jets. It reportedly flew over the U.S. mainland towards the Atlantic then finally crashing off to the waters of the Caribbean.
Glazer apparently requested to fly lower because of an issue with the plane during two calls to air traffic control, but when they asked if he wanted to declare himself in a state of emergency, he said no.
The aircraft, a SOCATA TBM 700, was flying at 28,000 feet at 10 am when Glazer asked to descend to 18,000 feet. He was cleared to drop to 25,000 feet but he then asked to go lower.
Air traffic control denied the second request because of the traffic below plane. They said if he made a left turn he could detour and descend.
He made the turn, but then stopped responding.
A U.S. C-130 and a Jamaican search and rescue team have been dispatched to the area to locate the wreckage in Port Antonio, Jamaica.
The Glazers, both 68, are parents of three children and known in their respective fields. Both knew how to fly.
