Unable to raise contact with a Beech Baron 56 enroute to St. Paul, Minnesota two F-16s are dispatched to investigate.
What quickly becomes apparent is the pilot is incapacitated and the aircraft is flying on autopilot. The decision is then made to escort the aircraft until it runs out of fuel and hopefully descends into an unpopulated area.
The lone 56 year old pilot died either prior to impact or enroute. The aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed into a rural area.
Just recently an airliner crashed in Cyprus when both pilots become incapacitated and we all remember the 1999 tragic death of golfer Payne Stewart and four others when his chartered Learjet flew across the country before running out of fuel and plummeting to the earth.
