JUST IN: Unresponsive pilot seen slumped over before deadly Virginia plane crash, officials say
Federal investigators trudged through rugged terrain Monday in search of wreckage from a business jet to solve the mystery of why the plane veered off course and slammed into a mountain, killing four people.
Attention on the crash and its cause was heightened by its unusual flight path over Washington, D.C. and a sonic boom caused by military aircraft heard across the capital, and parts of Maryland and Virginia. The North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement that military aircraft was authorized to travel at supersonic speeds, which caused the sonic boom. The aircraft also used flares to try to get the pilot’s attention.
Investigators will look at when the pilot became unresponsive and why aircraft flew the path that it did, he said. They will consider several factors that are routinely examined in such probes including the plane, its engines, weather conditions, pilot qualifications and maintenance records, he said.
The White House was continuously informed as Air Force jets tried to contact the pilot of the civilian plane and monitored the small aircraft’s path from Washington airspace to rural Virginia, Kirby said. According to the Pentagon, six F-16 fighter jets were immediately deployed to intercept the plane. Two aircraft from the 113th Fighter Wing, out of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, were the first to reach the Cessna to begin attempts to contact the pilot. Two F-16 aircraft out of New Jersey and two from South Carolina also responded.
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Unresponsive small plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in VirginiaA 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.
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Unresponsive small plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in VirginiaA 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
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Unresponsive small plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in VirginiaA 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.
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Unresponsive small plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in VirginiaA 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.
Read more »