Sonic Boom Heard in Washington As Fighter Jets Chase 'Unresponsive' Plane

Loud boom rattles Washington DC as fighter jets chase an unresponsive private plane.

High restrictions have been placed on airspace near and around Washington ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

(Photo: File)

An unresponsive private business plane that flew over Washington DC caused the US military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane eventually crashed in the state of Virginia on Sunday, June 4. This fighter jet set off a loud sonic boom which was heard in the US capital.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement that the plane, which was a Cessna 560 Citation V model which is a popular twin-jet business plane, was unresponsive when hailed by the authorities as it flew over Washington and northern Virginia. It wasn't clear how many people were on board the plane.

It was confirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration in a statement that a Cessna Citation crashed into mountainous terrain in Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m. According to the statement, the aircraft had taken off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was flying to Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York.

According to the statement, The NORAD aircraft deployed to respond to the unresponsive jet “was authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region.” 

While this occurred, the US Capitol Complex was briefly placed on elevated alert. In a press statement, a White House official said that President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident.

High restrictions have been placed on airspace near and around Washington ever since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Center. The crash occurred more than 100 miles (161 kilometres) to the southwest of Washington.