Plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble; later crashes in Virginia

DC Boom heard in parts of Maryland & Virginia.

Around 3pm ET, today, a Private Cessna Jet reportedly was supposed to land k Long Island, New York, turned around and headed back to Washington DC, flight paths show.

Citation 560 Encore is registered to an owner in Hollywood,… pic.twitter.com/ZDkia4cOXK

— UltraMJTruth (@MJTruthUltra) June 4, 2023

It was not immediately clear why the plane was nonresponsive, why it crashed or how many people were on board.

A US official confirmed to The Associated Press that the military jet had scrambled to respond to the small plane, which later crashed. The official was not authorised to publicly discuss details of the military operation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Flight tracking sites showed the jet suffered a rapid spiralling 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 flight path of the Cessna jet which crashed into the mountains in Virginia earlier today after entering restricted airspace over Washington D.C. and being pursued by F16 Fighter Jets.

The privately owned plane, which was registered in Elizabethton, Tennessee dropped 28,864… https://t.co/vWR1WgTKeZ pic.twitter.com/7dLTjteak4

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) June 4, 2023

The North American Aerospace Defense Command later said in a statement that the F-16 was authorised to travel at supersonic speeds, which caused a sonic boom.

“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 pm. Police were still working to find the plane on Sunday evening but hadn’t been able to locate the crash site, police spokesperson Corinne Geller said.

The plane that crashed was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc. 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.

🚨#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

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

US 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 was briefed on the incident. The sound resulting from the authorised DOD aircraft was faint at JBA.” The Pentagon and the DC Air National Guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.