On 4 September 2022, a chartered Cessna 551 business jet registered in Austria was scheduled to fly from Jerez, Spain to Cologne, Germany. Early in the flight, after takeoff, the aircraft's pilot notified air traffic control about a cabin pressure malfunction. After the aircraft passed the Iberian Peninsula, no further contact could be established.
The aircraft involved in this accident, registered as OE-FGR, was first flown in 1979. The aircraft, which climbed to its assigned altitude at , slightly turned near Paris and Cologne, where it failed to make a landing, and continued straight on its northeastern course, flying over Germany and then out for almost two hours and over the Baltic Sea near Denmark and Sweden. Fuel was eventually exhausted when the aircraft was over the Baltic Sea, approximately off Ventspils, Latvia, and crashed into the water in a spiral dive after an uncontrolled descent.
According to news reports, contact with OE-FGR was lost shortly after takeoff from Jerez. According to the Flight Management System, the autopilot brought the aircraft up to and continued the journey via Poitiers, Paris, Luxembourg, and on to Euskirchen. In Euskirchen, the pilot apparently had planned to take over for final approach into Cologne (15:50 UTC). Since the pilot was apparently unconscious, the plane continued in a straight line for the next 1 hour 41 minutes (17:36 UTC) on a course of 54 degrees. The Cessna then started descending and turning to the right on a course of 116 degrees, seemingly headed for an approach at Ventspils International Airport. It is probable that instead the right engine failed and a change of course was initiated. About 3 minutes later (17:39 UTC), the left engine also failed, as OE-FGR continued to fly straight forward at 116 degrees before starting to lose speed and altitude (17:40 UTC), eventually crashing (17:42 UTC) in the Baltic Sea.
History of the flight
The aircraft, which was approved for operation with one pilot, took off from Jerez in southern Spain. According to reports from Bild, the pilot reported a cabin pressure problem shortly before ATC contact was lost. The Cessna 551 Citation II was flying at at the time. Shortly after its entry into French airspace, around 14:25 UTC, the Cessna was intercepted by one Dassault Rafale, scrambled from Mont-de Marsan air base. A second Rafale from Saint-Dizier air base took over the interception. The Cessna was continuously followed by the French Air Force until it reached Cologne, around 15:57 UTC, when the German Air Force took over.
Two German Eurofighter Typhoon jets were scrambled from the Rostock-Laage air base at 16:15 GMT to contact the aircraft crew and were unsuccessful. Shortly after Rügen, the German fighter pilots broke away at 16:50 GMT. The plane entered Swedish airspace, where it flew south of Gotland and on towards the Gulf of Riga.
A Danish F-16 fighter took over the escort of the ghost flight. Later, the Danish Air Force said they could not see anybody in the cockpit after intercepting the plane. The Danish jet pilots witnessed the plane going into a downward spiral and crashing off the shoreline of Latvia, far beyond the outer edge of the Latvian territorial sea, at around 17:45 GMT.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a 43-year-old Cessna 551 Citation II built in 1979, with manufacturer serial number 551-0021, registered as OE-FGR. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT15D-4 engines and did not have a flight data recorder. Since July 2020, it was owned and operated by GG Rent.
Passengers and crew
Reportedly, four people from Germany were on board: Karl-Peter Griesemann (who has been confirmed as the pilot of the aircraft), his wife Juliane, their daughter Lisa (who also carried a pilot's licence), and her boyfriend Paul. Experts have proposed that the drop in pressure likely caused the pilot and passengers to lose consciousness, as seen in the 1999 South Dakota Learjet crash, the 2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash, and the Helios Airways Flight 522 crash. The aircraft's operator was GG Rent GmbH, based in Bergisch Gladbach, located to the east of Cologne, Germany.
On 6 September, Mayor of Cologne Henriette Reker commented on the Griesemann family's misfortune and offered condolences.
Aftermath
According to the Latvian Maritime and Air Rescue Centre, parts of the plane have been located. The Swedish Stena Line ferry Stena Urd was asked to help at the crash site.