The DC area was rocked by a sonic boom on Sunday afternoon caused by fighter jets taking off to investigate a private Cessna plane that had flown through restricted airspace near the White House and ultimately crashed in Virginia.
None of the four people on board the plane are believed to have survived the crash.
BREAKING: A small Cessna plane flew over a no fly zone in Washington, D.C. unresponsive this afternoon.
– F16’s were then scrambled to intercept the unresponsive aircraft.
– The Annapolis Office of Emergency Management confirmed that a sonic boom was caused by the F16s.
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) June 4, 2023
According to the pilots from the Capital Guardians, a unit of the 113th Wing of the D.C. National Guard, the Cessna pilot appeared to be incapacitated. A fighter jet was tailing the Cessna until it crashed, according to a report from NBC News.
An unnamed senior government official told the outlet that the plane may have run out of fuel.
“The plane was registered to a corporation based in Melbourne, Florida, owned by John Rumpel, who said by phone Sunday that his daughter and granddaughter, along with their nanny and the plane’s pilot, were on board,” the report stated. “At the time, he said he was still awaiting news on their status.”
The plane had taken off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was heading to New York’s Long Island MacArthur Airport.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command said that an F-16 fighter aircraft intercepted the plane and attempted to contact the pilot using signal flares before the crash.
The jet taking off caused a loud sonic boom that could be heard in parts of Virginia, Maryland, and DC around 3 p.m.
Caught it on camera. ! pic.twitter.com/xRC4uHEIHL
— Lisa (@Irisheyez28) June 4, 2023
“The NORAD aircraft were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region,” NORAD said, according to the report.
🚨#WATCH: As a dc resident captured the Sonic boom on a home security camera
📌#Washington | #DC
Earlier this evening, incredible video was captured on a home security camera showing a loud sonic boom which was caused by fighter jets that quickly took off to intercept an… pic.twitter.com/NYyRpcQPoy
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) June 4, 2023
The incident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
