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Raphine firefighters participated in the search for the small plane that crashed into the Blue Ridge Mountains about three miles north of Montebello Sunday afternoon.
One of the firefighters was part of the four-member crew that finally found the crash site after hours of on-foot searching. Six others were also involved in the effort.
The Raphine department was among the agencies initially dispatched to the Blue Ridge Parkway just before 4 p.m. for a report of an aircraft accident.
Lt. Chelsea Brooks reported that the Raphine firefighters staged with the other units at mile marker 23 on the Parkway, just north of its intersection with Va. 56. Not seeing anything there, three Raphine members then used a nearby Jeep trail to try to locate the plane.
After those efforts were unsuccessful, most of the responding units headed to the trailhead for the St. Mary’s Wilderness Area. From there, crews of rescuers walked into the wilderness areas, and one of those crews, which included a Raphine member, was able to locate the crash site shortly before 8 p.m.
During this later stage of the search, three Raphine firefighters were working at the command center at the trailhead while another member was relaying radio signals from the Parkway to the search crews. Two Raphine members who were in on the initial search efforts had by then been sent back to the firehouse.
Because it was deemed dangerous for the crew that found the plane to return the way they came, they walked out to the Parkway, where they were picked up just before 11:30 p.m.
Other fire and rescue units involved in the search came from Augusta County, along with the Virginia State Police, Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Department of Forestry, Wintergreen Fire and Rescue, Wilson Volunteer Fire Company and Virginia Department of Emergency Management. A state police helicopter was utilized in the evening, as were drones.
Virginia State Police reported Monday afternoon that VSP had returned to the plane crash site in Augusta County early that morning, along with a National Transportation Safety Board representative, to begin evidence collection and body recovery efforts.
State police said they had been informed by the NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration that a pilot and three passengers were on the privately owned Cessna aircraft. The plane crashed in “a densely wooded, remote, mountainous area of Augusta County, near the Nelson County line,” more than a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway, the VPS said.
“Due to the severity of the crash, the remains collected at the scene will be transported to the Office of the Virginia Medical Examiner for examination, autopsy and positive identification,” the VPS said. “Once positive identification is made and next of kin is notified, the Virginia State Police will release the identities of the individuals recovered from the scene.”
According to an Associated Press story, the plane that crashed was registered to a company in Florida, and the man who runs the company told The New York Times that his daughter, 2-year-old granddaughter, her nanny and the pilot were on the plane.
The Associated Press story stated that the FAA said the plane had taken off from Elizabethton, Tenn., and was headed to Long Island, N.Y. However, once over Long Island, the plane turned around and flew over Washington, D.C. Because the plane was in restricted airspace, six F-16 fighter jets were launched to intercept the plane and contact the pilot. A sonic boom was heard by many in Northern Virginia as jets flew to catch up with the plane.
Low-flying jets were later heard throughout the Rockbridge area as they followed the plane southward.
According to the AP story, flight tracking sites showed that the plane went into a rapid spiraling descent before it crashed.
The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash.
