Pilot Safety Under Scrutiny After Recent Plane Crashes

The pilot of the private plane that caused a sonic boom over Washington, D.C. was a retired Southwest Airlines captain with over 25,000 hours of flying experience. The pilot, Jeff Hefner, died along with his three passengers when the Cessna 560 Citation V crashed in the Virginia mountains. Early indications point to a medical issue or lack of oxygen in the plane’s cabin, based on a fighter jet pilot sent to intercept reporting that Hefner was slumped over. Hefner was highly safety conscious and employed standard practices from his commercial days with Southwest in his private flights.