Mum killed in plane crash was adopted at the age of 40 by Trump donor's family
A woman killed in a plane crash which sparked a major security alert and sonic boom across Washington DC was adopted by the Trump donor family at the age of 40, her biological family have revealed.
Adina Azarian, 49, was a top real-estate agent in East Hampton and Manhattan, and was adopted at the age of 40 by Florida businessman John Rumpel and his wife Barbara, according to Adina's half-brother Steven White, 57.
Adina was on the private jet along with her two-year-old daughter Aria, the child's nanny, Evadnie Smith, and pilot Jeff Hefner, when the jet, owned by Mr Rumpel, crashed in rural Virginia on Sunday, June 4.
A F-16 jet was scrambled to make contact with the plane as it wasn't responding to radio transmissions as it flew above some of the US' most heavily restricted airspace.
Adina Azarian (left), her two-year-old daughter (center) and the child's nanny Evadnie Smith (right) were killed when a jet they were in crashed in rural Virginia (Instagram)Experts have speculated that a huge drop in cabin pressure may have sucked the oxygen from the aircraft, leaving the pilot and passengers unconscious, with the plane flying around on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed.
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Rescuers reached the site of the crash in a rural part of the Shenadoah Valley, near Montebello, where they found no survivors.
Adina's half-brother Steven has now revealed to the New York Post that she met Mr Rumpel and his wife in a chance encounter, and touchingly bonded with them.
"Adina mentioned something about an arbitrary meeting, literally perhaps standing in line for something, but that's about all I know," Steven said.
John and Barbara Rumple adopted Adina when she was 40 after a chance encounter (Facebook / Barbara Weimer Rumpel)His sister's relationship with the older couple blossomed.
They saw reminders in her of their teenage daughter, who died in a scuba diving accident in 1994, and she saw in them the "proper parents" she always longed for after a turbulent childhood.
"I think [they] fulfilled a need that Adina was looking for in terms of having a 'proper set of parents'." said Steven.
"Because she never really had the mum, dad, dog, white picket fence."
He explained that between their mum's multiple marriages and moving back and forth between New York and Connecticut took a toll on Adina and broke apart their already strained family.
Adina was a top real-estate agent in East Hampton and Manhattan (Facebook)"It just was a case of too much - too many marriages, too many people coming in and out," Steven explained.
"Adina was at a point where she needed to step back to settle her own mind, make peace with things.
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"And I think Adina fulfilled a role that the Rumpels were looking for."
Mr Rumpel's family were returning to their East Hampton, Long Island, home after visiting his house in North Carolina, he said.
Talking of how Adina reminded him of his late daughter, he told the Washington Post: "They had the same fire in their bellies, and they were loving, caring children. We had no one else, and we loved her."
Adina's biological mum, Christine Graham, 78, told the New York Post: "It seems like there was a mutual need at the time.
"They had lost a daughter in '94, and Adina, feeling rejected by her mother, me, I think it just clicked."
Aria with nanny Evadnie Smith (FOX3 News)She spoke of how she struggled with alcoholism when Adina was younger, though says she has now been sober for 26 years.
Christine also said she was working on mending her relationship with her daughter when Adina was killed.
Steven explained that his sister had asked their mum if she would mind if the Rumpels legally adopted her.
He said: "We thought it was strange, too, based on the age.
"That's usually something that happens with kids.
"But Adina, I think from a mental standpoint, wanted something more permanent so she could at least feel like, 'Yes, I have proper parents'."
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