Here’s a rewritten version of the article, preserving all verifiable facts and avoiding speculation:
Scripps Research Institute Scientist Missing After Aircraft Incident off San Diego Coast
A Cessna T240 corvalis TTx, single-engine aircraft, took off from Ramona Airport on Sunday afternoon. The pilot, identified as tsotne Javahishvili, was en route to San Diego Montgomery-Gibbs Airport when he became unresponsive. The aircraft was approximately 470 miles west of San Diego when it is presumed to have crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident.The NTSB Newsroom confirmed on Twitter that they are investigating the presumed crash of the Cessna T240 into the Pacific Ocean.According to the Aviation Safety Network, a global accident tracking database, the 2014 Cessna T240 Corvalis TTx was presumed to have been destroyed upon impact with the ocean.
flight data indicates that around 1:55 p.m. on Sunday, the pilot, presumed to be Javahishvili, checked in with the Montgomery-Gibbs airport control tower for landing. Five minutes later, the pilot was cleared to land on runway 28R but did not respond. The aircraft continued westward at an altitude of 2,600 feet, deviating from its intended track, as reported by the ASN.
Tsotne Javahishvili,a resident of Del Mar,is believed to have been the sole occupant of the aircraft. His LinkedIn profile indicates his association with the Scripps Research Institute. A biography on the Genomics website, based in Tbilisi, Georgia, states that Javahishvili began his career at the Tbilisi Institute of Plant Biochemistry after attending Tbilisi State University. He previously served as a professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia before joining the Scripps Research Institute’s department of experimental medicine.Scripps confirmed that Javahishvili was not employed by the institute at the time of the crash.the Genomics website states he had been a scientific supervisor with that institution since 2020.The University of Georgia also acknowledged javahishvili’s passing, stating they are closely monitoring the investigation into the plane’s disappearance off the San Diego coast. They identified Javahishvili as the founder and director of the Institute of Synthetic Biology of the University of Georgia and extended thier support to his family, friends, students, and colleagues.
In a statement, Peter Schultz of the Scripps Research Institute announced that the institute would be establishing a postdoctoral fellowship in Javahishvili’s name.
As of the reporting, no remnants of the aircraft have been located.
