On Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Airforce launched fighter jets in response to a Cessna Citation passenger jet violating airspace in Washington D.C. This aircraft, which can fit up to twelve people, then crashed into mountainous terrain in southwest Virginia at around 3 p.m. The plane has yet to be found.
A U.S. official clarified that the jets did not cause the accident. Reports stated the plane was ignoring radio queries and flying on an unusual path, prompting Twitter users to post about a “loud boom”. In response, the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management and the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management both sent tweets to inform the public that there was no danger.
The Cessna had departed from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee and was headed to Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York. Virginia State Police are currently conducting search efforts with the aid of local authorities. Fox 5 DC reported a Cessna 560 Citation registered as N611VG flew over New York, New Jersey, and Maryland before descending into a mountainous area in Virginia, and it’s not yet known if the two events are related.
The plane was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne, Florida, and John Rumpel, the owner, informed the Washington Post that his daughter, grandchild, and a nanny were on board.