Pentagon fighter jets chased a passed-out Cessna pilot over Washington, D.C. Sunday afternoon, causing a loud sonic boom heard through much of the region. The civilian aircraft crashed shortly after.
A Cessna aircraft with an unresponsive pilot prompted an aerial chase with Pentagon jets Sunday when it crossed into protected U.S. airspace over Washington, D.C.—causing a sonic boom heard across the Washington D.C. area, officials said.
The plane concerned authorities when it flew over restricted D.C. airspace. Pentagon F-16s scrambled and went supersonic to catch up with the runaway plane. According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command : “The civilian aircraft was intercepted at approximately 3:20 p.m.” The chase sparked panic in the area when residents as far as Maryland and Virginia heard the jets breaking supersonic speed.
NORAD confirmed that “the pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed” into mountainous terrain near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday.Public aviation records show the plane is registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne, a Florida-based company owned by John and Barbara Rumpel.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sonic boom heard in Washington D.C. was from authorized Pentagon flight, officials sayA sonic boom heard in Washington D.C. on Sunday was caused by an authorized Pentagon flight, the Annapolis Maryland Office of Emergency Management said.
Read more »
Cessna plane reportedly crashes into 'mountainous terrain' in southwest VirginiaThe FAA has confirmed that a Cessna citation has crashed into a mountainous terrain in Southwest Virginia.
Read more »
Cessna plane reportedly crashes into mountainous terrain in Staunton, VirginiaThe FAA has confirmed that a Cessna citation has crashed into a mountainous terrain in Southwest Virginia.
Read more »
Cessna plane reportedly crashes in Virginia after passing through restricted airspace in DCThe FAA told FOX 5 that a Cessna citation has crashed into a mountainous terrain in Southwest Virginia.
Read more »
Cessna plane crashes in Virginia after passing through restricted DC airspace; NORAD dispatchedThe FAA told FOX 5 that a Cessna citation has crashed into a mountainous terrain in Southwest Virginia.
Read more »
Military jets cause sonic boom, startle Washington, DC areaThe sonic boom from a jet racing toward the site of a crash in Virginia left hundreds startled in the Washington D.C. area who witnessed the explosive sound on Sunday.
Read more »