The Cessna 551 private plane, which was registered to an airline belonging to the Griesemann family, took off from the airport in southern Spain’s Jerez at 3 pm on Sunday and was supposed to land in Cologne. But it never landed in Germany. Radio contact was lost over France. The machine, which had four passengers on board, continued to fly to the northeast of the country as a “ghost plane”.
The trip turned out tragically. A private plane crashed into the Baltic Sea. Before the plane crash, the plane was escorted by fighters from France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. “Fighter pilots didn’t even see anyone in the cockpit,” said Johan Wahlström from the Swedish Maritime Administration.
Out of fuel
According to the newspaper Bild, the pilot of the Cessna 551 still had enough to report problems with the pressure in the cabin. Then contact was lost. According to aviation experts, it was the drop in pressure that could have caused everyone on board to lose consciousness and the machine then continued its uncontrollable flight over Europe.
It missed Paris and the destination airport in Cologne and continued straight on until after 5 hours it ran out of fuel and crashed into the Baltic about 15 km off the coast of Latvia, west of the Latvian port of Ventspils. Search teams have already found debris and an oil slick, but no bodies.
A freak plane crash
Ships of the Latvian Navy and the Border Guard are searching for the wreckage. The drone of the European Maritime Safety Agency was also involved in the search operation on Monday, September 5. The authorities said that eleven fragments of the crashed machine have been found so far. However, there are still no traces of passengers or important parts of the plane. However, it is still unclear how the tragedy occurred.
The boss of the carnivals
According to the German Express, the plane was piloted by the owner of the charter company Quick Air Karl Peter Griesemann (†72). His wife Julianne (†68), daughter Lisa (†26) and her friend Paul (†27) were also on board. There were also two of their dogs. The family was returning from vacation.
They were staying in their holiday home in Spain. Griesemann was a well-known businessman and, according to Aftonbladet.se, was a passionate pilot. He owned the aforementioned company Quick Air, which specializes in private flights. His Rhine-based company reportedly employs more than 1,600 staff in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. The inhabitants of Cologne also remember him as a lover of carnivals.
He organized the Cologne festival. “I am shocked by the sudden death of Peter Griesemann, his wife and daughter. My deepest condolences to the family.” Carnival Festival President Chris Kuckerlkorn said the late businessman was a warm-hearted person. It is said that he was very happy to return to Spain with his family and whenever he could, he piloted the plane just as he did on the fateful Sunday. His daughter Lisa, who was also a licensed pilot, had a passion for flying after her father. A year ago, she and her boyfriend, Paul, bought a riding school in Wachtberg, near Bonn, Germany.
