Featured Image Credit: @viktoriathepilot/Instagram
Topics: US News
Jess Battison
Warning: This article contains content which some readers may find distressing
A flight instructor was heading up in the air with two students when tragedy struck.
Viktoria Theresie Izabelle Ljungman’s final moments were captured in a harrowing audio recording as she’d spoke with air traffic control.
The 23-year-old from Sweden was doing a lesson with Oluwagbohunmi Ayomide Oyebode, 18, and another unidentified 18-year-old student pilot when the accident occurred near Williamsburg International Airport in Newport News, Virginia, in 2022.
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Early evidence found that Oyebode was operating the small plane when he had caused it to stall in mid-air just after taking off.
Police said he had ‘attempted to pull the aircraft up at too steep of an angle’.
The single-engine Cessna 172 plane had reportedly reached an altitude of about 100 feet before it crashed.
Ljungman died at the scene while the two men were taken to hospital with serious and life-threatening injuries.
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Air Traffic Control audio had captured the young flight instructor’s last recorded words before she tragically died.
Believed to be her voice, a female pilot can be heard saying: “Cleared for takeoff, 97883. Caution wake turbulence."
The latter signalled a standard warning given about taking off behind a larger aircraft, according to audio available from LiveATC.net.
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But shortly after this was said, someone else utters: “We got a crash!”
“883, are you OK?” the controller asks, making reference to the small aircraft’s identifiable tail number, N97883.
Not getting a clear response, they ask again: “Are you on this frequency?”
But sadly, there was still nothing said back, with air traffic control dispatching emergency services to the crash site in a wooded area near the airport.
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According to Simply Flying, a small plane can stall like this when its angle is increased to the point where airflow around its wing is disrupted.
The person operating the plane can potentially correct this by pushing the aircraft’s snout down to reduce its angle.
However, this correction is more challenging to execute when the plane is at a low altitude already.
Following Ljungman’s tragic passing, her family shared a moving tribute.
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"Everyone who interacted with Viktoria admired her kindness and intelligence, and respected her tremendous dedication and work ethic," part of their statement read.
"Viktoria loved Hampton University and her Pirate family. We deeply appreciate that Hampton University made it possible for Viktoria to study in the US on a full scholarship to achieve her dream of becoming a pilot, and to compete for her school on the tennis courts and on the sailing team.
"We also wish to express our appreciation for all the manifestations of love and support from to all those in Virginia and the U.S. who knew and loved Viktoria, and ask that our privacy be respected at this very difficult time."