2043 Hebron, Indiana Learjet crash (2032: Collapse)

## 2043 Hebron, Indiana Learjet crash

On March 10, 2043, a Learjet 75 business jet was scheduled to fly from Indianapolis, Indiana, Indiana-Michigan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the jet broke up in mid-air under highly turbulent conditions near the town of Hebron, Indiana, killing all 9 people on board, including 3 members of the Hoosier-Michigander parliament (one such being the Opposition Leader and another being president Finlay Hunt's sister), both the director and deputy director of the Illinoisan Department of Commerce, the former vice president of Ohio, and Finlay Hunt's brother in-law. Due to the fact that the former Ohioan vice president, who was on self-imposed exile from Ohio was on the jet, early investigations reported that the Ohioan Intelligence Service downed the plane to eliminate the former vice president, however this was later ruled out as a possibility.

## Flight summary

At 14:28 on March 10, the Learjet departed Indianapolis International Airport, heading due north-northwest, expected to land around 15:50 at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The flight soon reached a cruising altitude of 6,000 feet, and began to enter a area of high turbulence over northwest Indiana around 14:50, over rural Porter County, and several cabin alarms began to sound at 14:50:57 on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), likely indicating that some form of damage had occurred. At 14:51:10, the CVR recording cut, and it's reported that the aircraft likely disintegrated in mid-air a few seconds later, killing everyone on board.

## Passengers

The aircraft was carrying many important Hoosier-Michigander and Illinoisan political figures, including the Hoosier-Michigander parliament's opposition leader and both the director and deputy director of the Illinoisan Department of Commerce, as well as the former Vice President of Ohio. The passengers were:

* MP Ethan Nicholson, representing Steuben County, Indiana (Conservative Freedom Party)
* MP Maria Hunt Stevens, representing Delaware County, Indiana and sister of head of state Finlay Hunt (Conservative Freedom Party)
* Freddie Chambers, Director of the Illinoisan Department of Commerce (Liberal Party of Illinois)
* Alfie Grant, Deputy Director of the Illinoisan Department of Commerce (Liberal Party of Illinois)
* MP Marquis Atkinson, Opposition Leader of the Parliament of the Republic of Indiana-Michigan representing Kalamazoo County, Michigan (Liberal Party)
* Luke Gardner, Former Vice President of Ohio and Vice-Chairman of the Allen County, Indiana Liberal Party (Liberal Party)
* Harrison Evans, Brother In-Law of Finlay Hunt

## Aftermath

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, a session of Parliament scheduled for the following day was suspended, and a investigation was opened by the National Transportation Board. A member of parliament gained national attention the following day for accusing the Ohioan government of shooting down the plane, despite little evidence of a intentional plane crash. After several months of investigation, it was found that the crash had been caused by a piece of metal separating from the chassis of the plane, compromising the structural integrity of the plane, and the increasing stress put on the chassis by heightened turbulence caused the plane to break apart in mid air. The crash had colossal implications on the politics of Indiana-Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and also was a severe hit on the already tense relations between Indiana-Michigan and Ohio.

Various conspiracy theories have emerged as to the cause of the crash, with many accusing the Ohioan or Kentuckian government of either shooting down the plane or putting a bomb on board. The Illinoisan Air Safety Board controversially initially marked the crash as a deliberate crash, before later reclassifying it as a accidental crash. Finlay Hunt, who was very close to his sister and brother in-law, who were both killed in the plane crash, fell into a deep state of mourning, however would be shot 9 days later at his sister's funeral procession in a failed assassination, and would spend several months in hospital. The crash also strengthened ties between the center-left Liberal and center-right Conservative Freedom parties for a short period.