OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
John Rumpel — frequent donor to former President Donald Trump, Republicans, and the NRA as well as other Republican causes — revealed that he lost several family members when a private jet crashed after flying through restricted airspace Sunday.
A sonic boom was heard across Washington, DC, on Sunday afternoon when military jets were scrambled after an unresponsive private plane crossed into restricted airspace and later crashed. All four people on the plane are dead.
“The deafening boom rang out when two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to investigate the aircraft that was not responding to radio transmissions shortly after 3 p.m., according to the Department of Defense The F-16s were deployed after the private Cessna flew into restricted airspace over the capital before it crashed in southwest Virginia. The fighter jets saw that the pilot of the plane appeared to have passed out, a US official told ABC News,” the New York Post reported.
Speaking with The Washington Post, Rumpel said his “entire family” was on board the Cessna that crashed.
The Cessna was not shot down, according to federal officials.
“We know nothing about the crash,” Rumpel told the Post. “We are talking to the FAA now … I’ve got to keep the line clear.”
He told the Times that if the plane had lost cabin pressure, “they all just would have gone to sleep and never woke up.”
“I don’t think they’ve found the wreckage yet,” Rumpel told the Times. “It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed.”
The plane that went down in DC yesterday belonged to a Trump donor named John Rumpel. His entire family was on board.
Absolutely tragic. Please pray for John Rumpel. 🙏🏼https://t.co/w0AZsSiA1K
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) June 5, 2023
Barbara & John Rumpel are active conservatives. She is an NRA leader. Five years ago, daughter died from a scuba accident. The plane had reached destination at Long Island when the plane turned around . Appeared to be on auto pilot? Too many accidents?https://t.co/Cugvq0jx0C
— Patricia P Tursi (@PatriciaTursi) June 5, 2023
“Data from flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows a plane matching the Citation’s description and flight path reaching Long Island before turning around,” the Post reported. “The plane flew directly over Washington before the data ends near Staunton, Va.”
The New York Post reported: “Rescuers were able to reach the site of the plane crash hours later on foot in a rural part of Shenandoah Valley, and no survivors were found, according to police. The aircraft departed Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, heading for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It had reached the New York area before making a nearly 180-degree turn and flying toward Virginia, according to the flight-tracking website Flight Aware.”
Rumpel’s wife, Barbara Weimer Rumpel, posted photos of their daughter and granddaughter on Facebook.
“My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter,” she wrote.
The NY Post notes that Barbara Rumpel’s LinkedIn notes that she has spent years advocating for gun rights and has been a member of the NRA’s Women’s Leadership Council since 2002.
“The couple is also politically active and together have donated to numerous Republicans running for federal office in the past few years — including $250,000 to the Trump Victory PAC in 2020, online records show,” the NY Post noted.
Rumpel also donated to Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney, and numerous state Republican parties, according to Open Secrets.
