The Department of Defence rushed fighter jets to obstruct a personal jet that got in Washington DC airspace and later on crashed into mountainous surface in southwest Virginia, authorities said.
The F-16s triggered a sonic boom that shook homes throughout the United States capital at around 3pm as they removed from Andrews Air Force Base in high speed pursuit of the Cessna Citation, a US authorities informed Reuters.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed The Independent the airplane had actually removed from Tennessee bound for New York however had actually crashed into a sparsely inhabited location near Staunton, about 150 miles southwest of DC.
There was no instant word on whether there were any casualties, or the number of individuals were on board the Cessna, which can seat approximately 12 guests.
The fighter jets did not not trigger the airplane to crash, a US authorities informed Reuters.
A source informed Reuters that the airplane seemed on automobile pilot and did not react to authorities.
“The aircraft took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York,” an FAA representative said in a declaration.
According to flight tracker website FlightRadar24, the airplane passed its designated location in Long Island, prior to doubling back towards Washington DC, passing annoyingly near to the White House and the United States Capitol building.
It then started a fast descent spiral quickly prior to crashing in southwest Virginia, flight courses revealed.
A Cessna Citation comparable to the one that crashed into a Virginia mountain side on Sunday afternoon (File picture)
(Getty Images)
The fixed-wing, multi-engine airplane is owned by Florida business Encore Motors of Melbourne, according to the FAA.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an examination into the crash, the FAA representative said.
The “loud boom”, as the fighter jets broke the speed of noise, shook homes and rattled windows in the capital, and was heard as far as northern Virginia and Annapolis, Maryland, right after 3pm.
“People all over DC area report hearing loud explosion shaking some houses,” reporter Oliya Scootercaster posted.
A Ring doorbell video camera appeared to catch the noise at 3.07pm, according to footage published to Twitter.
A DoD representative informed The Independent that the North American Aerospace Defense Command was preparing to make a declaration on the event.
After citizens required to social networks to inquire about the secret boom, the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said in a tweet that it originated from an authorised DoD flight that had actually flown at faster than the speed of noise, triggering a sonic boom.
The DC Fire and EMS Twitter account said emergency situation reaction authorities understood the reports of a loud boom in the location.
Washington DC Metro authorities referred The Independent to the DoD for more info.
Andrew Leydon, a DC-based freelance reporter, claimed the DC Air National Guard had actually been performing drills over Chesapeake Bay on Sunday afternoon and was cleared to go supersonic throughout an alert scramble workout.
On the Radio Reference online forum, users reported hearing an F-16 pilot state they had actually gone supersonic while flying Chesapeake Bay.
The United States Geological Survey did not report an earthquake on the East Coast at that time.
Twitter users reported hearing the surge as far as Alexandria, Virginia.
Thomas O’Brien said in a tweet he had actually been on a FaceTime with family in Maryland who instantly left the call due to the fact that of the so-called surge.
“Weird that nobody seems to know what caused it,” he published.
