Unresponsive American plane crashes in Jamaica

PHOENIX — A small American airplane crashed on the island of Jamaica on Friday, officials said.

The plane was scheduled to fly from Rochester, NY to Naples, Fla., but overshot its destination. The pilot was unresponsive. It is possible the plane lost cabin pressure and he passed out or suffered a medical emergency.

It is unknown how many people were on board.

It is unknown when the pilot became unresponsive, though flight data showed the plane changed course over North Carolina.

Two NORAD F-15s were following the plane before it entered Cuban airspace.

Unresponsive aircraft has entered Cuban airspace. #NORAD fighters have broken off trail.

— NORAD & USNORTHCOM (@NoradNorthcom) September 5, 2014

BREAKING: Cuban fighter jets now following unresponsive plane over Cuban airspace – @CNN

— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) September 5, 2014

NORAD says unresponsive aircraft flew over Cuba and now departing Cuban aispace. NORAD monitoring by radar. F15s refueling.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) September 5, 2014

The plane, a Socata TBM-700, is a light business and utility aircraft that seats four to six people. It has a maximum range of 1,824 miles. The flying distance between Rochester and Naples is 1,180 miles.

If the pilot passed out after a cabin depressurization, it would be similar to the Payne Stewart crash in 1999. The professional golfer and three others were flying from Orlando, Fla., to Dallas when the cabin lost pressure and all passengers passed out from lack of oxygen. The plane continued to fly until it crashed in South Dakota, killing everyone aboard.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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