UPDATE 2:38 p.m.: The Associated Press reports that the plane has crashed in Jamaica. A Jamaican military spokesman says the U.S.-based plane went down about 14 miles northeast of Port Antonio.
(WXXI News & AP) The FAA says its controllers are tracking a business plane that left Rochester for Naples, Florida this morning.
A statement from the FAA says the Socata TBM700 aircraft was flying at an altitude of 25,000 feet southbound off the Florida coast over the Atlantic Ocean, The pilot has not been responding to radio calls since 10m.
The flight departed from the Rochester Airport. Two F-15 jets were scrambled by NORAD to escort the plane.
The plane is registered to a limited liability company housed at 259 Alexander Street in Rochester. That address is the office of Buckingham Properties, which is owned by developer Larry Glazer. There has been no immediate comment from anyone at Buckingham. Glazer is a registered pilot.
The plane took off at 8:45 a.m. EDT from the Greater Rochester International Airport. The pilot, who was not identified, had filed a flight plan with the FAA to fly from Rochester, New York, to Naples, Florida.
The fighter jets were launched at 11:30 a.m. EDT Friday, said Preston Schlachter, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command & U.S. Northern Command.
Flightaware, an aviation tracking website, showed the plane over the Caribbean at about 2 p.m. EDT.
Here is the official statement from the FAA:
Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Controllers tracked a Socata TBM700 aircraft through U.S. airspace as the pilot stopped responding to radio calls at about 10 am EDT. The aircraft flew along the east coast of Florida before entering Cuban airspace. The FAA routinely coordinates with Cuban air traffic controllers on flights that overfly both countries. The flight departed from Greater Rochester Intl. Airport in New York and was headed to Naples Municipal Airport in Florida. We have not confirmed the number of persons on board.
