The aircraft, a CESSNA 551 registered in Austria, coming from Jerez, was escorted by the French and then German air police during its passage through Belgian, Luxembourg and then German airspace.
An 8-seater twin-engine plane from Spain crashed in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia on Sunday after a long absence of radio contact, the French Air Force said in a statement.
The aircraft, a CESSNA 551 registered in Austria, coming from Jerez, was escorted by the French and then German air police during its passage through Belgian, Luxembourg and then German airspace.
“Alert by the Spanish authorities of probable difficulties in pressurizing the aircraft, the Lyon Mont Verdun National Air Operations Center (CNOA) ordered the take-off of a Rafale on alert”, but “attempts to make radio contact were proved unsuccessful” and “visual contacts did not allow us to observe any activity in the cockpit”, details the Air Force.
An open investigation
In Germany, approaching Cologne, a Lutwaffe Eurofighter took over to watch the aircraft.
“The CESSNA continued on its way beyond Cologne and then crashed in the Baltic Sea off the Latvian coast around 7:45 p.m.,” the statement continued.
An investigation should shed light on the causes of the accident.