The pilot of the business jet that flew over Washington and crashed in Virginia appeared to be slumped over and unresponsive, the fighter jet pilots reported, according to two US officials briefed on the matter
Plane Crash Jet Scramble
NTSB investigator Adam Gerhardt told reporters it will take investigators a while to reach the remote crash scene about two to three miles north of Montebello. They expect to be on the scene for at least three to four days. Investigators had to hike to the site on foot because of the mountainous terrain.
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. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, on Sunday and was headed for Long Island’s MacArthur Airport. Inexplicably, the plane turned around over New York’s Long Island and flew a straight path down over D.C. before it crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m. It was not immediately clear why the plane was nonresponsive, why it crashed or how many people were on board.
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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.
Read more »
Unresponsive small plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in VirginiaThe plane turned around over New York’s Long Island and flew a straight path down over D.C. before it crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m.
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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 »