Photo: TANNEN MAURY / AFP / Getty Images
A chilling air traffic control audio captured the last words of a young flight instructor who was killed in an accident in Virginia when her student stopped the small plane at too steep an angle on takeoff.
The Swedish native Viktoria Theresie Izabelle Ljungman was killed when the single-engine Cessna 100 stopped and plummeted from about 100 feet around 3 pm Thursday at Williamsburg International Airport in Virginia.
Viktoria Theresie Izabelle Ljungman, 23, attended Virginia’s Hampton University on a tennis scholarship, eventually becoming a flight instructor. pic.twitter.com/6Yp23rpQF8— Murat SONGÜN (@Sky_3800) October 10, 3800
Student pilot Oluwagbohunmi Ayomide Oyebode and another unidentified young man from 18 years old, Hampton University students, were taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center with serious injuries.
Oyebode was subsequently transferred to the VCU Medical Center in Richmond.
Air traffic control audio captured the moments just before and after the accident when the pilot received clearance to take off.
“Cleared to take off, 97883. Wake turbulence caution,” the pilot replies to the controller, referring to a standard warning given about the effects of taking off behind a larger aircraft, according to audio captured by LiveATC.net.
Moments later, someone is heard saying: “We had an accident!”
“883, are you okay?”, says the controller, referring to the plane’s tail number, N 97883. “Are you on this frequency?”
The Cessna 172 plunged into a ditch from a height of about 100 feet.
No response is heard before rescue personnel are dispatched to the scene.
It was unclear who was on the radio during the broadcast because either pilot could communicate with ATC regardless of who was at the controls.
There was no indication if wake turbulence was involved in the accident, which remains under investigation.
“Everyone who interacted with Viktoria they admired his kindness and intelligence”,
Ljungman’s family shared their appreciation for the outpouring of support and said in a statement that they are “devastated to r this huge loss”.
“I didn’t even have 22 years and a half and we are devastated by this enormous loss,” Ljungman’s family said in a statement released Monday, according to WTKR.
“Knowing Viktoria was loving her, and not just for her family. Everyone who interacted with Viktoria admired her kindness and intelligence and respected her tremendous dedication and work ethic,” said her family.
“Viktoria loved Hampton University and her family. We are deeply appreciative that Hampton University made it possible for Viktoria to study in the USA on a full scholarship, achieve her dream of becoming a pilot, and compete for her school on the tennis courts and on the sailing team,” her parents said. loved ones.
“We also want to express our appreciation for all the outpouring of love and support from all those in Virginia and the US who they knew and loved Viktoria, and we ask that our privacy be respected at this very difficult time. The Ljungman family, Torekov and Gothenburg, Sweden,” they added.
Ljungman attended Hampton University in Virginia and earned his pilot’s license in March 2021, followed by her flight instructor license in April.
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