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Plane that crashed in Virginia, killing 4, owned by Melbourne-based company

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The Cessna Citation aircraft that was flying from Tennessee to New York and crashed in Virginia after flying into restricted airspace over the nation’s capital is owned by a company in Melbourne.

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NTSB expects to be on the scene of the crash that happened over the weekend in Virginia for a few days.

Investigators are looking for every possible reason for Sunday’s crash that sent fighter jets scrambling to intercept.

Military jets scrambled to intercept at supersonic speeds, but the pilot who appeared to be passed out slammed into a mountain near Montebello, Virginia, killing all four people aboard.

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The plane destroyed in the crash was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne.

The company is owned by Brevard County resident and NRA executive committee member Barbara Rumpel. She was not on the plane at the time of the crash. However, her daughter and granddaughter were, according to multiple media sources.

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NTSB has taken the lead in the crash investigation.

“Everything is on the table until we slowly and methodically remove different components and elements that will be relevant for this safety investigation,” said Adam Gerhardt, NTSB senior air safety investigator.

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.

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