Federal investigators on Monday hoped to begin unraveling the mystery of a private plane that flew into restricted airspace, prompting F-16 fighter jets to scramble at supersonic speed to intercept the Cessna before it crashed in a Virginia forest.
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.
A sonic boom from one of the jets startled residents across Washington and parts of Maryland and Virginia as the fighters pursued the unresponsive plane, firing off flares in an ill-fated effort to gain the pilot's attention. It was not clear why the plane veered off course, but loss of cabin pressure that could render the pilot and passengers unconscious was a possibility, the plane's owner said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement the plane crashed into mountainous terrain near rural Montebello in southwest 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.officials said they were monitoring the unresponsive pilot along with federal partners as the plane flew nearby on Sunday afternoon. The U.S.
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