‘My Family is Gone’: Prominent Brevard Citizens Barbara and John Rumpel’s Daughter, Granddaughter Die in Plane Crash

owners of Victoria’s Landing in Melbourne

Nonresponsive Cessna Citation flew straight over Washington, DC, prompting the military to scramble a fighter plane

 

(FOX NEWS) – A prominent Brevard County, Florida businessman and his wife, a National Rifle Association (NRA) executive committee member, say their daughter and granddaughter were among the four people killed on board a Cessna jet that flew over restricted airspace in Washington, D.C., before crashing in the mountains of Virginia on Sunday.

Barbara Rumpel, who has served on the NRA’s Women’s Leadership Forum, reacted Sunday night in a Facebook post for an NRA event, writing, “My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter.” On Monday morning, her Facebook page was no longer publicly available.

John Rumpel, who runs the Florida-based company Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc., to which the crashed plane was reportedly registered, told the New York Times that his daughter, 2-year-old granddaughter, her nanny and the pilot were aboard the plane.

He said that they were returning to their home in East Hampton on Long Island after visiting his house in North Carolina.

John Rumpel also lost his daughter, Victoria, at age 19 in a 1994 scuba-diving accident. The couple named the assisted living home Victoria’s Landing in Melbourne, after Victoria, according to the facility’s website.

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During a 2004 visit to Brevard, John and Barbara Rumpel caught sight of a tall building perched riverside by the Eau Gallie Causeway. As it happened, the building was for sale, so the couple jumped at the opportunity to own the perfectly situated property.

Instead of using it as just another investment, however, they created an investment in their future, a waterfront, resort-style, assisted living facility where they and their fellow residents could enjoy a carefree, affordable, rewarding lifestyle now and in the future.

The Rumpels, who occupy the 12th-floor penthouse at Victoria Landing, are frequent participants in the many events their facility offers.

The name of the facility honors the memory of the Rumple’s daughter, Victoria, who died at 19 in a scuba diving accident. The couple vowed to remember Victoria’s life by creating a place that joyously celebrates life each and every day.

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