A deep-pocketed Trump donor whose family was killed in a plane crash over the weekend endured a similar tragedy several years ago, it has been revealed – when his then-19-year-old daughter died in a fatal scuba-diving accident.
At the time, the teen’s death spurred Florida businessman John Rumpel, 75, to invest in a piece of real estate that would eventually become a multimillion-dollar institution – that also doubled as his daughter’s namesake.
Set in scenic Melbourne, the 11-story building today is a sanctuary for senior living, and is still operated by both Rumpel and his wife of several years, Barbara, 74. Its name, Victoria Landing, comes from Victoria Rumpel – the teen who died in 1994.
On Sunday, the well-connected couples’ suffering was compounded when a private Cessna jet carrying the Rumpels’ other offspring, 49-year-old Adina Azarian, and her own daughter crashed while flying from Tennessee to their house in East Hampton.
In a statement to The New York Times hours later, Rumpel revealed the pair had been returning home from a four-day visit to his own estate in North Carolina when the plane tumbled out of the sky at what he said was a rate of ‘20,000 feet-a-minute.’
John and Barbara Rumpel have been large-scale donors to the GOP in recent years, giving a combined $250,000 to a PAC supporting Donald Trump’s ill-fated campaign in 2020. The crash Sunday is only the latest tragedy to hit the couple, after their daughter’s death in 1994
At the time, the teen’s death spurred Rumpel, 75, to invest in this piece of Melbourne real estate that would eventually make him millions. Now a Sencutuary for the senior, the 11-story building today offers rooms starting at $4,100 a month , and is still operated by Rumpel and his wife – who have a suite in its penthouse
On Sunday, the well-connected couples’ suffering was compounded when a private Cessna jet carrying the Rumpels’ other offspring, 49-year-old Adina Azarian, and her own daughter – seen here with late mom and grandmother – crashed while flying from Tennessee to New York
‘I don’t think they’ve found the wreckage yet,’ Rumpel told the paper in a tearful phone interview. ‘It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed.’
A trained pilot himself, Rumpel theorized that if the plane lost pressurization while in the air, his family likely lost consciousness and never woke up.
‘They all just would have gone to sleep and never woke up,’ he reportedly said while choking back tears.
As for the crash, it took place at around 3.30pm near the US Capitol, and is still shrouded in mystery.
It saw several US military jets scramble into formation moments before – after receiving reports that the single-engine planes’ pilot had become unresponsive in midair.
Shortly thereafter, as the Federal Aviation Administration announced they were investigating the crash, Rumpel – a prominent figure who has rubbed shoulders with a medley of GOP candidates over the years – revealed the plane to be his.
‘My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter,’ Rumpel wrote of the casualties wrought by Sunday’s disaster, in a comment to a social post that marked his wife’s recent attendance at a conference held by the National Rifle Association (NRA), where she is a high ranking member.
‘We know nothing about the crash,’ he elaborated to The Washington Post.
‘We are talking to the FAA now. I’ve got to keep the line clear,’ he said at the time.
Within hours, it was revealed both the family’s nanny had also been onboard the one-manned craft at the time of the crash – and officials would later say that neither the survived the crash.
In a post to social media, both Rumpel and his wife told friends and relatives that the crash Sunday had claimed their ‘entire family’ – with Virginia State Police later telling DailyMail.com there were no survivors among the four confirmed to be onboard.
In a statement Sunday, Rumpel revealed the pair had been returning to their home in East Hampton (seen here) after a four-day visit to one of his estates in North Carolina
Azarian’s death comes nearly three decades after the passing of her sister Victoria, who died aged 19
Azarian’s two-year-old daugher, seen here with her mom in a recent photo, also died in the crash
A nanny employed by the family also died, FAA officials have since confirmed
A photo Barbara Rumpel previously shared of her granddaughter
As the FAA continues to vet what caused the unexplained incident – which rocked Virginia residents with a supersonic boom that could be heard for several miles – new details about the family affected by the tragedy continue to come to light.
Boasting deep ties to the Florida area, the Rumpels are large-scale donors to several conservative political candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, having given a combined $250,000 to a PAC supporting Trump’s 2020 bid, and several thousand toward DeSantis’ successful Gubernatorial run as well.
They’ve also donated thousands more to figures such as Senate candidate Herschel Walker and Congressional candidate Laura Loomer, and federal hopefuls such as Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Trump back in 2016.
In the decades before, the pair gained notoriety as a power couple after meeting in John’s native New York in the 1960s, at an office building that, at the time, Barbara worked in and John owned.
Within a few years, the pair would wed – before welcoming two children,
Barbara Rumpel was also a co-chair of ‘Second Amendment Coalition for Trump-Pence’ in 2016. She has been on the NRA’s Women’s Leadership Council since 2002 and spent more than six years on the organization’s executive committee.
The Rumpels have even committed their entire real estate portfolio to the pro-second amendment group.
‘We want to leave a legacy that will help preserve this country as we know it and as it is meant to be,’ Barbara wrote in a statement on an NRA website.
Barbara Rumpel was also a co-chair of ‘Second Amendment Coalition for Trump-Pence’ in 2016. She is seen here with actor Tom Selleck at a recent NRA event celebrating women
Barbara, a native of Chicago, has been on the NRA’s Women’s Leadership Council since 2002 and spent more than six years on the organization’s executive committee. A high-powered GOP donor like her husband, she is seen here with Donald Trump Jr.
State police confirmed the wreckage of the plane was found in the Staunton/Blue Ridge Parkway area, in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and that no survivors were found.
The aircraft crashed in the mountainous regions of Virginia, though military officials deny that the pursuit caused the crash
The aircraft was on its way to Long Island, New York, but once it reached its destination, it turned around and headed back to Washington DC, flight paths show. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters it appeared to be on autopilot at the time.
US military officials scrambled fighter jets from Andrews Air Force Base, where President Joe Biden was playing golf at the time, to pursue the Cessna Citation, which can only carry about 12 passengers.
Flight tracking sites showed the jet suffered a rapid spiraling descent, dropping at one point at a rate of more than 30,000 feet per minute before crashing in the St. Mary´s Wilderness.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command later said in a statement that the F-16 was authorized to travel at supersonic speeds, which caused a sonic boom.
The aircraft eventually crashed in the mountainous regions of Virginia, though military officials deny that the pursuit caused the crash.
State police confirmed the wreckage of the plane was found in the Staunton/Blue Ridge Parkway area, in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and that no survivors were found.
‘At 3:50 p.m. Sunday (June 4, 2023), the Virginia State Police was notified of a possible aircraft crash in the Staunton/Blue Ridge Parkway region,’ a spokesperson for Virginia State Police said.
‘Search efforts by the Virginia State Police, Augusta County Sheriff’s Office and Augusta County Fire-Rescue immediately got underway by ground and air across the region.
‘Shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday (June 4, 2023), first responders were able to reach the crash site by foot.
‘State police has suspended its search efforts. No survivors were located.’
The Department of Homeland Security said there is no threat at this time.
A Twitter user showing his dog reacting to the loud sonic boom the plane crash caused
The aircraft was on its way to Long Island, New York, but once it reached its destination, it turned around and headed back to Washington DC, flight paths show The private jet from Elizabethton, Tennessee flew over restricted air space in Washington DC
Flight track of an aircraft, N611VG, that flew up to the New York area before doing a U-turn and flying directly over Washington D.C. At the end it descended rapidly. It is possible the sonic booms were aircraft scrambling (either DCANG who were in an exercise) or AC F-16 or both pic.twitter.com/5uAYLVxEvL
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) June 4, 2023
Dozens of people reported hearing a huge ‘bang’ or ‘explosion’ in DC – that shook the ground and was compared to an earthquake
Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said the loud sound was caused by an authorized Department of Defense flight
‘During this event, the NORAD aircraft also used flares – which may have been visible to the public – in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot,’ the statement said.
‘Flares are employed with highest regard for safety of the intercepted aircraft and people on the ground. Flares burn out quickly and completely and there is no danger to the people on the ground when dispensed.’
Virginia State Police said officers were notified of the potential crash shortly before 4 p.m. Police were still working to find the plane on Sunday evening but hadn´t been able to locate the crash site, police spokesperson Corinne Geller said.
But the announcement only came after multiple agencies received an onslaught of calls about the noise, which was heard as far as away as Annapolis, Maryland.
The loud sound frightened some social media users who said it shook their homes.
Now, some residents of DC, Maryland and Virginia are upset there was no warning about the sonic boom.
‘If that was really a sonic boom that was just felt across Maryland and Virginia the government has some serious explaining to do and a pilot needs dishonorably discharged immediately,’ Matt Cox wrote.
‘It was loud enough to shake my f****** coffee table. Thank God there isn’t an infant in the house.’
President Joe Biden was out golfing at the time of the sonic boom at Andrews Air Force Base
Social media users reported hearing a huge ‘bang’ in the city, with some saying it shook their homes
Some online said they were afraid to go outside in the aftermath, while others said whatever the source of the noise was it can’t be good.
It rattled many people in the Washington area who took to Twitter to report hearing a loud noise that shook the ground and walls. Several residents said they heard the noise as far away as northern Virginia and Maryland.
‘There was an explosion in Washington DC a couple of minutes ago. It seems to have been heard in a large area of the city,’ Hussein Ibish tweeted. ‘I have no idea what happened, but it’s not good.’
Erica Petacchi added that she had just gotten out of her car when she heard the noise and ‘felt something.
‘It’s like nothing I’ve experienced before,’ she tweeted. ‘I thought it was a large gas explosion nearby.’
Eventually, though, the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management announced that the noise was simply the result of a sonic boom.
‘The loud boom that was heard across the DMV area was caused by an authorized DOD flight,’ it said. ‘This flight caused a sonic boom.’
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating the plane crash.
A White House official said: ‘The President was briefed on the incident. The sound resulting from the authorized DOD aircraft was faint at JBA.’
The Pentagon and the D.C. Air National Guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
