Meaghan M. McDermott and David Andreatta

Staff writers

"We need to get lower."

Minutes before air traffic controllers in Atlanta lost contact with Rochester developer Larry Glazer's Socata TBM-900, en route to Naples, Florida, the plane appeared to be in trouble.

"We need to descend down to 1-8-0, we have an indication that is not correct on the plane," pilot Larry Glazer said in air traffic recordings obtained from liveATC.net.

Told to maintain his altitude at 25,000 feet, Glazer, identified by his plane's tail number, 900KN, said that wasn't good enough. He was cleared to drop to 20,000 feet, but minutes ticked by, and his plane didn't descend. Air traffic controllers became concerned.

"900KN, do you understand you are to descend and maintain flight level 2-0-0?" they said. And then, "900KN, how do you read? 900KN, how do you read?"

The queries went unanswered.

And the plane, carrying Glazer and his wife, Jane, flew aimlessly and unresponsive over the Atlantic Ocean for hours Friday, shadowed by fighter jets, before crashing off the coast of Jamaica.

The Glazers were killed. They were both 68 years old. A family spokesman said they were the only people aboard the plane.

At a news conference Friday evening, Jamaican officials said they'd located an oil slick where the aircraft may have gone down and search and rescue teams had been dispatched to look for survivors.

As dark fell, Jamaica Coast Guard Commander Antonette Wemyss-Gorman said search operations would be suspended and resumed at first light Saturday. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is expected to arrive in the area late Friday and join the search at first light, said Petty Officer Sabrina Laberdesque.

In a prepared statement, their children, Mindy, Rick and Ken Glazer, said they were awaiting answers as to what went wrong.

"We are devastated by the tragic and sudden loss of our parents, Jane and Larry Glazer," the statement read. "They loved and appreciated the opportunity to help build the community of Rochester, and we thank everyone in the community for their expressions of support.

"We understand that there are many questions yet to be answered about today's events, and we too are awaiting answers. At this time, we would appreciate the ability to mourn privately."

The turboprop TBM-900 departed Greater Rochester International Airport at 8:45 a.m. bound for Naples, Florida, where the couple had planned to spend the weekend.

Around 10:40 a.m., the North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, dispatched a pair of F-16 fighter jets from McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina to investigate the unresponsive aircraft.

At 11:30 a.m., two F-15 fighter jets dispatched from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida took over the monitoring duties. The jets escorted the Glazers' plane until it entered Cuban airspace.

One of the fighter jet pilots, asked by air traffic control if he could see if the pilot of the TBN-900 was breathing, said, "I can see his chest rising and falling." The pilot, suspecting possible hypoxia — oxygen deprivation — on board, was hopeful that a drop in altitude from running out might rouse Glazer from his slump over the controls.

But that was not to be.

The plane crashed about 14 miles northeast of Port Antonio around 2:15 p.m. EDT after traveling more than 1,400 miles.

The U.S. Coast Guard has initiated a search and rescue mission in the area.

Larry Glazer's impact

No developer held greater significance or hope for Rochester than Glazer.

He was the CEO and managing partner of Buckingham Properties and owned or managed 13 million square feet of real estate in the city, including Xerox Tower, the Bausch + Lomb building and Midtown Tower. He had eyes on developing the rest of Midtown.

Other projects included Alexander Park, Buckingham Commons, the Michaels-Stern Building, Ellwanger & Barry Building, Water Street Commons, Cascade Commons, Monroe Square and the Washington Building.

Within minutes of the plane going down, local officials with whom the Glazers regularly interacted on development and charitable projects began issuing public condolences to the family.

"He is precious in 100 ways," said Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, the president of the Rochester Downtown Development Corp. "He is one of a kind. ... This is a nightmare."

The loss of the Glazers packed a gut-wrenching punch to a city already mourning the death of Police Officer Daryl Pierson, who was killed in the line of duty Wednesday night.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said flags at City Hall that were already at half-staff in remembrance of Pierson would stay lowered for the Glazers as well.

"The city of Rochester has lost two heroes," she said. "Just as we are struggling to cope with the tragic loss of Officer Daryl Pierson, we are shocked to learn of the death of the father of downtown development, Larry Glazer, and his wife, Jane.

"It is difficult to put into words how much Larry Glazer has meant to our community. Larry worked hard to return a sense of vitality and excitement to our center city. His efforts helped to lift our spirits and restore our sense of optimism. He has been a treasured friend and partner."

County Executive Maggie Brooks did not speak on any immediate plans for the properties Glazier owned but shared her personal thoughts on what the real estate mogul would have wanted for his legacy.

"One of the great things about Larry Glazer was he formed and established an incredible company, Buckingham Properties, and there is a very talented team of people there working every day," she said. "I think he would want us to focus on what was his vision and that was his vision for transformation in Rochester. He would not want that to be gone with him."

The Glazers were active in the Jewish community, with Larry having served on the board of Jewish Senior Life and Jane board president of the Jewish Community Center.

Larry Fine, executive director of the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester, spoke about the couple in the present tense. "Until I hear confirmation (of their deaths), I'm going to keep talking about how they are terrific people, because I don't want to deal with the alternative."

Fine said he has known the Glazers for many years. "I can't think of nicer people, more dedicated to the community. They are wonderful, wonderful people. If this does turn out to be them, this is a tragedy. The community didn't need another tragedy this week."

The Glazers were members of Temple B'rith Kodesh for more than 40 years. Executive director Joel Elliot said they were "terrific congregants. They were terrific members of the community. It's difficult to think of them as not being a vital part of our community."

Elliot said the names Larry Glazer and Jane Glazer would be recited before Mourner's Kaddish at the conclusion of services Friday night.

An international story

Media coverage of the doomed plane quickly escalated after NORAD issued a statement at 12:50 p.m. acknowledging that it was tracking the flight.

National and international media outlets picked up the story, and as it became apparent that it was only a matter of time before the plane would run out of fuel, the coverage was ongoing, transfixing television audiences here and beyond.

Investigators and aircraft technicians speculated the cabin lost air pressure, and left its occupants unconscious.

Andrew Knott, executive director of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association — of which Larry Glazer was president — tracked the progress of the wayward aircraft online.

He said the aircraft — the first single-engine, pressurized-cabin turboprops ever made, and still the fastest such airplanes in the world — have not been troubled by incidents of this type.

"I'm not aware of any history of anything like this happening with a TBM," he said.

While a loss of cabin pressure can lead to a precipitous loss of oxygen, Knott said TBM-900s are equipped with backup oxygen supplies. A mask is located immediately behind the pilot's seat.

Hadrian Dailey, an aircraft technician who worked for years at the Rochester airport and now works out of Buffalo, explained depressurization can act like a slow leak that incrementally deprives occupants of their ability to assess the danger of their situation.

"Autopilot systems are designed to be overpowered by the pilot," Dailey said. "There are an awful lot of things that would have to go wrong for an airplane to just continue on and the pilot not being able to change that.

"What we're talking about is incapacitation of the pilot and for that to happen, he has to be at a high altitude and the pressurization system would have to fail in such a way that he would not recognize it."

MCDERMOT@gannett.com

DANDREATTA@gannett.com

Twitter.com/david_andreatta

Twitter.com/meagmc

Includes reporting by The Associated Press and staff writers Donyelle Davis, Brian Sharp, Patti Singer, Steve Orr and Gary Craig.