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No survivors found after plane that flew over DC and led to fighter jet scramble crashes in Virginia

No survivors found after plane that flew over DC and led to fighter jet scramble crashes in Virginia
FROM OFFICIALS ON THE EXPLANATION BEHIND THAT NOISE. WE’VE LEARNED HOW A PLANE CRASH IS CONNECTED TO THIS SONIC BOOM WHICH WE’RE TOLD WAS CAUSED BY AN AUTHORIZED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FLIGHT. WE HEARD A GIANT BOOM AND IT WOKE US UP. I THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD BECAUSE IT’S JUST CLEAR OUTSIDE. THERE’S NO RAIN, SO WHY WOULD IT BE THUNDER? AN EXPLOSION. EARTHQUAKE OR MAYBE THUNDER. ALL THEORIES FROM MARYLANDERS AND VIRGINIANS JOLTED BY A LOUD BOOM LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH REPORTS OF HOUSES SHAKING. THE NOISE WAS EVEN CAPTURED ON CAMERA FROM ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, TO NORTH SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA. OUR RING NOTIFICATIONS WERE GOING CRAZY WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT OPTIONS. WAS IT THE NAVY OR WAS IT A SONIC BOOM OR WAS IT EARTHQUAKE? A FEW HOURS AFTER IT HAPPENED, THE NORTH AMERICAN AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND, OR RAD, CAME OUT WITH THE CAUSE. WE’RE TOLD AN F-16 FIGHTER AIRCRAFT RESPONDED TO AN UNRESPONSIVE CESSNA AIRCRAFT OVER WASHINGTON, DC AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA AUTHORIZED TO TRAVEL AT SUPERSONIC SPEEDS. A SONIC BOOM MAY HAVE BEEN HEARD, MAKING PEOPLE AND ANIMALS JUMP ACROSS THE REGION. TRAVEL. IT WAS REALLY QUIET. AND THEN WE WOKE UP AND IT WAS LIKE A REALLY SUDDEN LIKE DIDN’T SHAKE THE GROUND, BUT IT WAS A LITTLE TOO LOUD. AND HE WAS MORE CALM ABOUT IT THAN I WAS. I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOD, I LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO DC. WHAT WAS THAT? NO, RED SAYS THE CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT WAS INTERCEPTED AT 3:20 P.M., BUT THE PILOT WAS UNRESPONSIVE AND THE CESSNA SOON CRASHED NEAR THE GEORGE WASHINGTON NATIONAL FOREST IN VIRGINIA. IT MAKES SENSE. IT SOUNDED LOUDER THAN THAT TO ME. AND THE PLANE CRASH TO THAT IS BAD. WE’RE TOLD THE RED AIRCRAFT ALSO USED FLARES WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC. NOW, NEW TONIGHT, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATORS ARE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE TO THE SCENE TOMORROW. WE’LL BRING YOU ANY OTHER UPDATES AS WE RECEIVE THEM. BUT FO
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No survivors found after plane that flew over DC and led to fighter jet scramble crashes in Virginia
A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation's capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region.Hours later, police said rescuers had reached the site of the plane crash in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and that no survivors were found.The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethton, Tennessee, on Sunday and was headed for Long Island's MacArthur Airport. Inexplicably, the plane turned around over New York's Long Island and flew a straight path down over D.C. before it crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m.It was not immediately clear why the plane was nonresponsive, why it crashed or how many people were on board. The plane flew directly over the nation's capital, though it was technically flying above some of the most heavily restricted airspace in the nation.A U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press that the military jet had scrambled to respond to the small plane, which wasn't responding to radio transmissions and later crashed. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the military operation and spoke on condition of anonymity.Flight tracking sites showed the jet suffered a rapid spiraling descent, dropping at one point at a rate of more than 30,000 feet per minute before crashing in the St. Mary's Wilderness.The North American Aerospace Defense Command later said in a statement that the F-16 was authorized to travel at supersonic speeds, which caused a sonic boom that was heard in Washington and parts of Virginia and Maryland.In Fairfax, Virginia, Travis Thornton was settled on a couch next to his wife, Hannah, and had just begun recording himself playing guitar and harmonica when they were startled by a loud rumble and rattling that can be heard on the video. The couple jumped up to investigate. Thornton tweeted that they checked in with their kids upstairs and then he went outside to check the house and talk to neighbors."During this event, the NORAD aircraft also used flares – which may have been visible to the public – in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot," the NORAD statement said. "Flares are employed with highest regard for safety of the intercepted aircraft and people on the ground. Flares burn out quickly and completely and there is no danger to the people on the ground when dispensed."Virginia State Police said officers were notified of the potential crash shortly before 4 p.m. and rescuers reached the crash site by foot around four hours later. No survivors were found, police said.The plane that crashed was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc, which is based 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.Rumpel, a pilot, told the newspaper he didn't have much information from authorities but suggested the plane could have lost pressurization."It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed," Rumpel told the newspaper.A woman who identified herself as Barbara Rumpel, listed as the president of the company, said she had no comment Sunday when reached by The Associated Press.The episode brought back memories of the 1999 crash of a Learjet that lost cabin pressure and flew aimlessly across the country with professional golfer Payne Stewart aboard. The jet crashed in a South Dakota pasture and six people died.President Joe Biden was playing golf at Joint Base Andrews around the time the fighter jet took off. Anthony Guglielmi, spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service, said the incident had no impact on the president's movements Sunday. Biden was playing golf at the Maryland military base with his brother in the afternoon.A White House official said the president had been briefed on the crash and that the sound of the scrambling aircraft was faint at Joint Base Andrews.___Associated Press writers Chris Megerian and Zeke Miller in Washington and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation's capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region.

Hours later, police said rescuers had reached the site of the plane crash in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and that no survivors were found.

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The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethton, Tennessee, on Sunday and was headed for Long Island's MacArthur Airport. Inexplicably, the plane turned around over New York's Long Island and flew a straight path down over D.C. before it crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m.

It was not immediately clear why the plane was nonresponsive, why it crashed or how many people were on board. The plane flew directly over the nation's capital, though it was technically flying above some of the most heavily restricted airspace in the nation.

A U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press that the military jet had scrambled to respond to the small plane, which wasn't responding to radio transmissions and later crashed. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the military operation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Flight tracking sites showed the jet suffered a rapid spiraling descent, dropping at one point at a rate of more than 30,000 feet per minute before crashing in the St. Mary's Wilderness.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command later said in a statement that the F-16 was authorized to travel at supersonic speeds, which caused a sonic boom that was heard in Washington and parts of Virginia and Maryland.

[image id='4f12cd29-25a1-468a-b0a1-6b01c452c717' mediaId='db013590-07e9-4ac2-b024-aff9fc5ea686' align='center' size='medium' share='true' caption='Search and rescue teams leave the command post at St. Mary’s Wilderness en route to the Blue Ridge Parkway to search for the site where a Cessna Citation crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Va., Sunday, June 4, 2023.' expand='' crop='original'][/image]

In Fairfax, Virginia, Travis Thornton was settled on a couch next to his wife, Hannah, and had just begun recording himself playing guitar and harmonica when they were startled by a loud rumble and rattling that can be heard on the video. The couple jumped up to investigate. Thornton tweeted that they checked in with their kids upstairs and then he went outside to check the house and talk to neighbors.

"During this event, the NORAD aircraft also used flares – which may have been visible to the public – in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot," the NORAD statement said. "Flares are employed with highest regard for safety of the intercepted aircraft and people on the ground. Flares burn out quickly and completely and there is no danger to the people on the ground when dispensed."

Virginia State Police said officers were notified of the potential crash shortly before 4 p.m. and rescuers reached the crash site by foot around four hours later. No survivors were found, police said.

The plane that crashed was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc, which is based 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.

Rumpel, a pilot, told the newspaper he didn't have much information from authorities but suggested the plane could have lost pressurization.

"It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed," Rumpel told the newspaper.

A woman who identified herself as Barbara Rumpel, listed as the president of the company, said she had no comment Sunday when reached by The Associated Press.

The episode brought back memories of the 1999 crash of a Learjet that lost cabin pressure and flew aimlessly across the country with professional golfer Payne Stewart aboard. The jet crashed in a South Dakota pasture and six people died.

[mediaosvideo align='' embedId='e2d7c0b6-8213-4bcd-bae7-3742f280fcac' mediaId='6d0a42de-23db-48a5-b2b9-505772f26404' size=''][/mediaosvideo]

President Joe Biden was playing golf at Joint Base Andrews around the time the fighter jet took off. Anthony Guglielmi, spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service, said the incident had no impact on the president's movements Sunday. Biden was playing golf at the Maryland military base with his brother in the afternoon.

A White House official said the president had been briefed on the crash and that the sound of the scrambling aircraft was faint at Joint Base Andrews.

___

Associated Press writers Chris Megerian and Zeke Miller in Washington and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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