The Canadian family of five that was killed in the horror plane crash in Nashville has been identified.
Victor Dotsenko, 43,his wife Rimma, 39, and their three children David, 12, Adam, 10, and Emma, 7, died on Monday next to Interstate-40 when their single-engine plane crashed and burst into a fireball on Monday night.
National Transportation Safety Board official Aaron McCarter said Victor mysteriously flew over the John C. Thune Airport before he U-turned and crashed around 8pm, and investigators have ‘no idea why.’
‘I’m at 1,600 [feet]. I’m going to be landing. I don’t know where. I’m too far away. I won’t make it,’ Dotsenko said moments before he and his family perished. Dotsenko received his pilot’s license from the Brampton Flight Centre in 2022. The aircraft was based out of the Brampton Flying Club.
The children’s school, UMCA Rich Tree Academy, posted a heartbreaking tribute to the family.
‘These beautiful children lit up our hallways every day. They all had such a positive energy and attitude towards friends and teachers,’ the private school said.
‘Words cannot express the profound sadness and grief we are experiencing as we mourn the loss of the Dotsenko family.’
Victor Dotsenko, his wife Rimma and their three children Emma, 7, Adam, 10, and David, 12, died next to Interstate-40 when their single-engine plane crashed in Nashville
Investigators look over the wreckage after the Canadian family was killed on Monday night
Rinna Dotsenko’s father, Sergei Rudetsky, also confirmed the tragic news to The Toronto Star. He asked for privacy as the family deals with their ‘shock and grief.’
The family lived in the Toronto suburb of King, Ontario.
King Township Mayor Steve Pellegrini made a heartfelt announcement about the loss of the family.
‘On behalf of King Township, I extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the Dotsenko family from our community who tragically lost their lives in the small plane crash in Nashville, Tennessee,’ Pellegrini said.
‘This is a heartbreaking and devastating loss for our tight-knit community. While we await further details from the ongoing investigation, our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of the victims during this incredibly difficult time.’
‘We also extend our gratitude to the first responders and officials involved in the response and investigation.’
McCarter said the reasons for the crash could take months to establish, and the incident was even more tragic as it is ‘always hard when children are involved.’
Although miraculously no one on the ground was killed or injured in the crash, the Nashville Fire Department described the tragedy as ‘catastrophic.’
At Tuesday’s press conference, officials said they could offer few details on the crash as the investigation was in its preliminary stages.
It is unclear if the aircraft suffered navigational issues on its flight, as it overshot its intended runway by several miles at 2,500ft before making the U-turn, at which point it crashed.
Harrowing cockpit audio revealed the frantic final moments inside the plane as its engines cut out within eyesight of the runway, as the father warned air traffic control: ‘I’m too far away, I won’t make it.’
The minute-long audio from the plane appears to begin after the pilot sent out an emergency alert to air traffic control, as the operator asks the pilot: ‘Do you still have John C Airport in sight?’
Shocking footage captured the moment the plane exploded into a fireball by the side of a highway, killing all five on board
Witnesses reported seeing the plane coming over the interstate from the north and crossing over the lanes, before hitting the grassy median
‘Not sure,’ the pilot responds.
The operator names the aircraft by its phonetic name, ‘Charlie, Foxtrot, Bravo, Whiskey, Hotel’, throughout the audio.
‘Are you trying to land at John Thune?’ they ask.
‘My engine turned off,’ the pilot answers. ‘I’m at 1,600 (feet)… I’m going to be landing, I don’t know where.’
The air traffic controller says they are ‘declaring an emergency’, but reassures the panicked-sounding pilot they have the runway ‘within shot.’
‘Straight in runway 2, straight in runway 2 at John Thune, do you have the airport in sight?… you’re clear to land,’ the operator continues.
Some have commented that the pilot appeared to sound inexperienced and more distressed than another may have been.
He is heard saying that he does have the airport ‘within sight’, but admits: ‘I’m too far away, I won’t make it.’
‘Okay… uhhh,’ the operator responds for a few seconds, before ordering the pilot to try and coast into the runway without the use of his engines.
‘See if you can glide in there, sir. Glide in, they’re clearing the runway for you.’
Nashville resident and former city council member, James Hollin, said he was driving along I-40 after the time of the incident.
‘My kids tried to rubber neck but couldn’t make out what it was that burned so badly. They kept saying it wasn’t a car and my mind didn’t expect it to be a plane,’ he told The Tennessean.
Harrowing cockpit audio captured the panicked final moments of a pilot as his single-engine aircraft’s engines cut out within sight of John. C Thune Airport in Nashville
Shocking footage showed the single-engine aircraft explode into a fireball by the side of Inerstate-40
Witness Dion Burnley added in a Facebook live broadcast: ‘I’d just seen this pane crash on I-40, it went down and it blew up. I thought it was a car that crashed.’
Witnesses reported seeing the plane coming over the interstate from the north and crossing over the lanes, before hitting the grassy median.
Nashville International Airport spokesperson Stacey Nickens said the aircraft, a C-FBWH, left Mount Sterling, Kentucky around 7:19 p.m. and was set to arrive at John C. Tune Airport in Nashville around 7:43pm.
Following the tragic accident, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell paid his respects to the five people killed in the crash.
‘Our thoughts go out to the loved ones of all those on board the single-engine aircraft that crashed near Interstate 40 this evening,’ he said on X.
‘I want to thank the Metro emergency responders who were on site quickly and extinguished the fire.’