Sonic boom in Washington as F-16 impedes Cessna

The fighter planes from Joint Base Andrews were ordered to intercept a private airplane above Virginia, creating a sonic boom that resonated throughout the region.

The US authorities were following an airplane flying over Virginia when the F-16 jet fighters were ordered to impede it as it was violating the airspace in Washington DC, according to North American Aerospace Defense Command officials. The F-16s were rushing to catch up to the Cessna Citation, and the jet fighters created a sonic boom over the US capital. At the same time, Cessna aircraft crashed into rocky terrain in southwest Virginia, announced by FAA. 

The thunderous sound, which rattled windows and shook walls for kilometers, was reported by locals in the city and its outskirts. This sonic boom created distress among people who took to social media sites asking what had happened. 

_{Cessna Citation aircraft. Image Source: iStock}

Reports on the incident causing Sonic Boom

The Cessna’s lack of response and subsequent crash are both unknown reasons. There is no proof that the military was responsible for the crash, according to three people with knowledge of the incident who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation in public. 

According to NORAD, the jets also tried to bring the Cessna pilot’s attention by using flares. The report added that when someone is flying negligently, fighter jets are permitted to fly at supersonic speeds.

National Transportation Safety Board officers claimed that before the incident, the plane had not responded to messages from air traffic control. 

According to numerous US media sources, the military did not shoot the plane down. There was no immediate information available regarding the pilot or those aboard. 

According to US Capitol Police, the US Capitol Complex was immediately placed on high alert until the aircraft left the area. Airspace in the vicinity of Washington has been constrained since the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001.

A Cessna Citation aircraft crashed on Sunday at about 3:30 p.m., according to a statement from the FAA. A Virginia State Police spokesman informed that local and regional law enforcement agencies are looking for the downed aircraft and have not yet located a crash site. Because of low-lying clouds and fog in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the search and rescue team is unable to fly over the area where authorities believe the aircraft crashed.

President Joe Biden was given a briefing on the incident.

_{Washington D.C. Image Source: Reuters}

The Cessna’s route

The airplane took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport towards Long Island McArthur Airport in New York and flew at 34,000 ft., according to the data by Flightradar24. 

At around 2:30 p.m. ET, it turned and soared directly above the airport; however, it did not descend or land there; instead, it proceeded on a straight course for roughly the following 50 minutes. According to the Flightradar24 trace, the jet flew right over Washington, including the extremely sensitive US Capitol and White House.

The aircraft quickly fell from 34,000 feet to 27,635 feet in roughly two minutes after crossing Charlottesville, Virginia, according to Flightradar24 spokesman Ian Petchenik. It was descending at a rate of around 20,000 feet per minute just before it vanished from the company’s monitoring system, according to Petchenik.

The Cessna’s downing remains unknown, however, in prior incidents with unresponsive pilots, aircraft autopilots have proceeded on a straight course past the airfield, Petchenik said.

The loud noise experienced by locals was caused by a sonic boom and there is no threat related to the incident, according to the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management in Maryland, confirmed on Twitter.