Killed: Rochester real estate developer Larry Glazer and his wife Jane, both 68, were aboard the aircraft that lost contact with air traffic controllers and flew 1,700 miles before crashing in the water off Jamaica
Two F-15 fighter jets were following the private plane over the Atlantic Ocean today. Government officials say the pursuit began after the pilot failed to respond to repeated contact attempts by air traffic controllers.
The FAA says controllers were last able to contact the pilot of the high-performance single-engine turboprop at around 10 a.m., Eastern time. The pilot took off from Rochester, New York, and had filed a flight plan to Naples, Florida.
The fighter jets were launched at around 11:30. An aviation tracking website, Flightaware, showed the plane over the Caribbean at around 2 p.m.
It's the second time in less than a week that private pilot has become unresponsive during a flight. On Saturday, a pilot lost consciousness and his plane drifted into restricted airspace over the nation's capital. Fighter jets were also launched in that case and stayed with the small aircraft until it ran out of fuel and crashed Saturday into the Atlantic.
Update:
A small private plane that passed its Florida destination before crossing into Cuban airspace - and triggering a U.S. security alert - has crashed in the water off Jamaica twice asked permission to fly at a lower altitude before the pilot lost consciousness, it has emerged.
Larry Glazer, a real estate developer in Rochester, New York, was seen slumped over the controls by a fighter jet sent to escort the plane. He and his entrepreneur wife Jane, both died in the crash.
Their plane, which took off from New York on Friday morning, sparked panic when the pilot stopped responding to radio calls about an hour after take-off and passed its destination of Naples, Florida.
It continued flying south for several hours at an altitude of 25,000 feet before entering Cuban airspace and heading towards the Caribbean, eventually crashing 14 miles North East of Port Antonio in Portland on Friday afternoon. In total, it traveled more than 1,700 miles.
Two fighter jets had been sent to the plane earlier on Friday after air traffic controllers were unable to make contact with the pilot. The jet pilots noted that Glazer was slumped over his controls, perhaps from oxygen deprivation.
One of the fighter jet pilots said he could see the pilot of the small plane, a SOCATA TBM 700, which has a pressurized cabin, was still alive.
'I can see his chest rising and falling,' he said in a recording of his dispatch. 'Right before I left... we could see that he was actually breathing.'
The plane also had 'frosted windows', an indication of a sudden loss of cabin pressure and officials said they suspected hypoxia - a deprivation of oxygen - could have caused them to pass out.
According to ABC, the pilot requested to fly lower during two calls to air traffic control, however when they asked if he wanted to declare himself in a state of emergency, he said no.
The plane was flying at 28,000 feet at 10 am when Glazer asked to descend to 18,000 feet because of an issue with the plane, ABC reported.
He was cleared to drop to 25,000 feet but then asked to go lower.
Air traffic control denied the second request because of the traffic traveling below Glazer.
They said if he made a left turn he could bypass the traffic and descend.
He made the turn, but then stopped responding.
The fighter jets that found the plane were eventually forced to break off once they entered Cuban airspace. They were in contact with Cuban authorities, who have said the aircraft did not violate its airspace rules.
After passing Cuba, it reached the Caribbean where it crashed, Jamaican authorities said.
A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 will search for the plane's wreckage, while Jamaica said a search and rescue team had been dispatched to the area.
The plane, a Socata TBM-700 light business and utility aircraft, was registered to a development, Buckingham Properties, which is owned by Glazer.
A company bio for Glazer notes: 'Larry spends some of his spare time on the ground - gardening around his house with his wife, Jane; and some in the sky - flying his plane.'
An article about Glazer in the Rochester City Newspaper called him 'downtown's patron saint'.
His company 'owns, co-owns, or manages nearly 13 million square feet of real estate space', it says.
Jane Glazer was herself an entrepreneur, setting up and running QCI Direct, which delivers home care items through catalogs and websites.
The couple, who met at camp at Seneca Lake when they were both counselors in 1964, had been married for more than 45 years and were considered stalwarts of the community.
'The City of Rochester has lost two heroes,' Mayor Lovely Warren and City Council President Loretta Scott said in a statement.
'It is difficult to put into words how much Larry Glazer has meant to our community. Larry worked hard to return a sense of vitality and excitement to our Center City.
'His efforts helped to lift our spirits and restore our sense of optimism. He has been a treasured friend and partner.
'Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Glazer family, the partners and employees of Buckingham Properties, and all of Larry's many friends.'
Was she also slumped over?