Newsman: A private Cessna jet was lost altitude and crashed in a rural area of Virginia Sunday, when a pair of U.S. F-16 fighter jets caused a thundering sonic boom over Washington, D.C. The U.S. F-16 fighter jets tried and failed to contact the unresponsive pilot of a private Cessna jet that wandered into restricted airspace. Private Cessna later lost altitude and crashed.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that, The Cessna, identified as a Model 560 Citation, crashed near the George Washington National Forest near rural Montebello, Virginia, at about 3:23 p.mt No survivors were found.
The Cessna was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc., in Florida. John Rumpel, who runs the company, told The New York Times that his daughter, 2-year-old granddaughter, her nanny and the pilot were aboard the plane.
They were returning to their home in East Hampton on Long Island after visiting his house in North Carolina, he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the crash, the statement said.
It’s not yet known why the plane was over Washington, but it’s possible a loss of cabin pressure rendered the pilot and passengers unconscious, the plane’s owner said. The autopilot may have taken control.
It’s not yet known why the Cessna pilot was unresponsive. Authorities tried to contact the Cessna by radio and the F-16 jets fired flares to attract the pilot’s attention.
The F-16s were scrambled from Joint Base Andrews to intercept the plane. The fighter jets did not cause the Cessna to crash, defense officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
The F-16s were authorized to fly at supersonic speeds to reach the Cessna, the North American Air Defense Command said. Supersonic means the aircraft is flying at Mach 1, faster than the speed of sound. An aircraft moving at supersonic speed makes a noise comparable to thunder.
Sonic booms are shock waves produced by supersonic flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement the plane crashed into a forest near rural Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m. No survivors were found. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the crash, the statement said.
