Unresponsive aircraft over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in Virginia

Before the business plane crashed in Virginia on Sunday afternoon, the military scrambled a fighter jet in response to a wayward and unresponsive aircraft that passed over the capital. The fighter jet’s powerful sonic boom could be heard all throughout the capital.

The Cessna Citation reportedly took off from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, on Sunday and was en route to MacArthur Airport on Long Island, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Unexpectedly, the aircraft made a U-turn above Long Island, New York, and then descended directly towards Washington, D.C., before colliding into the mountains near Montebello, Virginia, at roughly 3:30 pm.

The reason for the plane’s inability to respond, the cause of the disaster, and the number of passengers were not immediately known. Although it was theoretically above some of the most strictly regulated airspaces in the country, the aircraft went right over the capital of the country.

The military fighter was dispatched in response to the tiny plane because it wasn’t responding to radio messages and was subsequently involved in a crash, a US official told The Associated Press. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to publicly disclose specifics of the military operation.

Prior to crashing in the St. Mary’s Wilderness, it was evident from flight monitoring sites that the jet had a fast spiralling fall, descending at one point at a rate of more than 30,000 feet per minute.

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.

“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 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. Police were still working to find the plane on Sunday evening but hadn’t located it, police spokesperson Corinne Geller 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 hoped his family didn’t suffer and suggested the plane could’ve lost pressurization.

“I don’t think they’ve found the wreckage yet,” Rumpel told the newspaper. “It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed.”

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 US 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.

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