At least four people were killed when a light aircraft with an unresponsive pilot crashed into the mountains of Virginia on Sunday (June 4). The authorities in the United States were forced to scramble F-16 fighter jets after a sonic boom that rocked the Washington DC metropolitan area. The sonic boom startled residents and rattled windows and walls for miles.
In the report, CNN mentioned that the first responders who arrived at the crash site said that the plane left a “crater”. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of them said that it looked like the plane impacted the ground at a very steep angle.
The first responders said that there were four recognisable pieces of wreckage from the plane. As quoted, one said, “There was nothing really bigger than your arm.” They also said that they found signs of human remains.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which was investigating the incident, said that the Cessna Citation slammed into the mountainous terrain Sunday afternoon some 275 kilometres southwest of the capital.
In a statement sent to news agency AFP, Virginia State Police said that first responders reached the site near the town of Staunton by foot some four hours after the crash. The state police said that “no survivors were located” and the search efforts were suspended.
The AFP report quoted an official as saying that President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident. Biden was at the White House and also played golf on Sunday. The official didn’t mention whether or not any emergency precautions were implemented.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement that the US military attempted to contact the pilot who was unresponsive until the Cessna crashed near the George Washington National Forest.
As reported by Reuters, a source familiar with the matter said that the Cessna appeared to be flying on autopilot.
The statement said, “The NORAD aircraft were authorised to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region.” It added that NORAD aircraft also used flares in an attempt to the pilot’s attention.
What exactly happened?
The FAA said that the civilian plane took off from Elizabethton, Tennessee bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York. However, the flight tracking website Flightradar24 indicated it turned around after flying over Long Island. It was headed back south over Washington and into Virginia.
In a statement, the FAA said, “There were four people on board. The FAA and NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) will investigate.” A preliminary accident report was expected later Monday.
As per public records, the aircraft was registered to Florida-based company Encore Motors of Melbourne. The owner of the company, John Rumpel, told The Washington Post that his “entire family” was on board, including his daughter, a grandchild and her nanny.
(With inputs from agencies)
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