US F-16 fighter jets caused a “sonic boom” in the Washington region on Sunday as they scrambled to reach an unresponsive aircraft, US officials said. A US official told CNN that the F-16s did not shoot down the plane and that it is typical for the Federal Aviation Administration to call in the planes if someone is flying unsafely. The small plane later crashed in Virginia.
No survivors were found at the crash site of a plane whose pilot was unresponsive while flying near the Washington area on Sunday, prompting military fighter jets to try to intercept the aircraft before it crashed, authorities said .
US F-16 fighter jets caused a sonic boom in the Washington, DC region on Sunday as they scrambled to reach the unresponsive aircraft, US officials said.
A US official said the F-16s did not shoot down the aircraft and that it is normal for the Federal Aviation Administration to call in the planes if someone is flying unsafely.
The pilot of the civilian aircraft did not respond as F-16 fighter jets attempted to make contact with him, according to a news release.
The F-16s were “authorized to fly at supersonic speeds”, leading to the sonic boom heard in the Washington, DC area.
The civilian aircraft, a Cessna 560 Citation V, was intercepted by NORAD aircraft around 3:20 p.m. and eventually crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia.
“The pilot became unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia,” the statement said. “NORAD attempted to establish contact with the pilot until the aircraft crashed.”
Four people were on board the aircraft, which overran its planned destination before crashing, sources familiar with the investigation said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter it was investigating the crash. The agency said it would arrive at the site on Monday and begin “the process of documenting and examining the aircraft.”
The private jet that crashed was registered to Encore Motors in Melbourne, Florida, according to FAA records.
Sonic boom heard throughout the region
The military aircraft caused a sonic boom heard in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
“We are aware of reports from communities in the National Capital Region of a loud ‘boom’ this afternoon,” authorities said on Twitter.
There is no threat at this time, they added.
The Cessna aircraft took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee and was en route to Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York.
The aircraft crashed in a mountainous and “sparsely populated” area.
“High alert” on Capitol Hill
The U.S. Capitol complex was placed on “high alert” when the small aircraft flew near the area Sunday afternoon, according to a statement from the U.S. Capitol Police.
“This afternoon, our officials were working closely with our federal partners to monitor an unresponsive pilot flying an aircraft near the capital. The US Capitol complex was briefly placed on high alert until the plane left the area,” the statement said.
The US Secret Service said there was no threat to President Joe Biden after the incident. Biden was playing golf on the course near Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
The incident “had no impact on the Secret Service,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a press statement.
The president has been briefed on the incident, according to a White House official.
