Sonic boom in DC – live: Plane that crashed lost contact with air traffic control just after takeoff

The pilot of the private Cessna Citation jet that caused a panic in Washington DC on Sunday when it passed into restricted airspace before crashing into a heavily-wooded area in Virginia was seen “slumped” in the cockpit prior to the accident.

Four people were killed in the disaster, including the adopted daughter and grandaughter of Florida businessman John Rumpel, 75, who had already lost a daughter in a scuba diving accident almost 30 years earlier.

Mr Rumpel, owner of Encore Motors of Melbourne and known as a prominent donor to conservative political causes aligned with Donald Trump, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying that his “entire family” had been on the plane when it crashed.

When the doomed flight, en route from Tennessee to MacArthur Airport in Long Island, New York, entered DC airpsace, a loud sonic boom was heard across the capital as two F-16s were scrambled to intercept the plane as it passed by sensitive sites including the White House and US Capitol.

First responders at the crash site said it had left a “crater” in rural Virginia.

Outside aviation experts speculated the pilot likely lost consciousness from a lack of oxygen inside the jet when it climbed above 10,000 feet, the altitude that typically requires cabin pressurization.

Only minutes into the doomed journey, the pilot stopped responding to air traffic control instructions prompting the alert to military, security and law enforcement agencies.

Key Points

• Sonic boom ‘explosion’ shakes Washington, DC, as fighter jets react to unresponsive plane before crash

• Pilot of private jet was ‘unresponsive’ even as F-16s used ‘flares’ to draw attention

• Police say no survivors located at Shenandoah Valley crash site

• Businessman says ‘entire family’ was on doomed private jet

• What is a sonic boom?

What is the history of supersonic travel – and booms?

09:00 , AP

In 1947, test pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager became the first person to fly faster than sound in an orange, bullet-shaped Bell X-1 rocket plane. His exploits were told in Tom Wolfe’s book “The Right Stuff,” and in the 1983 film it inspired.

In the movie, someone on the ground asks, “What’s that sound?” as Yeager’s plane flies above and breaks the sound barrier.

Interest in supersonic flight initially focused mostly on military planes, according to the Congressional Research Service. But it grew to include supersonic civil aircraft in the 1960s.

‘The air rushing over the surfaces of the aircraft will cause a sonic boom'

08:00 , AP

Anthony Brickhouse, an associate professor of applied aviation sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said: “The different surfaces of the aircraft are basically punching through the air. The air actually rushing over the surfaces of the aircraft will cause a sonic boom.”

“When the Space Shuttle orbiter was coming back into the Earth’s atmosphere, you would typically get to sonic booms,” Brickhouse said. “The SpaceX Dragon capsule created sonic booms.”

Brickhouse said the F-16 flying over Washington on Sunday was “probably trying to go as fast it could to catch up” with the wayward Cessna airplane.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon can fly 1,500 mph or twice the speed of sound, known as Mach 2, according to the Air Force.

What is a sonic boom?

07:00 , AP

Sonic booms are thunderous-like noises that are heard on the ground when airplanes overhead fly faster than the speed of sound. That speed is typically about 760 mph near sea level, but can vary depending on the temperature, altitude and other conditions, according to the Congressional Research Service.

As the plane speeds through the air, the air reacts like fluid. Molecules are pushed aside with great force, “and this forms a shock wave, much like a boat creates a wake in water,” according to NASA.

“When this line of shock wave passes by, listeners on the ground hear a very loud noise,” according to an explanation from Australia’s University of New South Wales.

Jets authorised to ‘travel at supersonic speeds'

06:00 , Graeme Massie

When the F-16 jets reached the plane at around 3.20pm ET they fired flares to try and get the pilot’s attention, according to a statement from the Continental US North American Aerospace Defense Command Region.

“The pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia,” the release said.

“NORAD attempted to establish contact with the pilot until the aircraft crashed.”

The jets were authorised by officials to “travel at supersonic speeds”, which led to a boom across the DC area.

The F-16s did not shoot down the plane, a US official told CNN.

Cessna Citation’s lone pilot seen slumped over before crash

05:00 , Graeme Massie

When Sunday’s tragedy struck, the family had been returning home to East Hampton, New York, after a four-day trip to Mr Rumpel’s home in North Carolina, he told The New York Times.

“My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter,” Barbara Rumpel, an NRA executive, wrote in a Facebook post.

The Cessna Citation’s lone pilot was seen slumped over in his seat before it crashed in a heavily-wooded area near Waynesboro, Virginia, a source told CNN.

The flight had been travelling from east Tennessee to Long Island, New York, at 34,000 feet when it became unresponsive and triggered an interception by military fighter jets protecting the US capital.

Rumpels lost daughter in 1994 scuba diving accident

04:00 , Graeme Massie

After the death of their first daughter, Mr Rumpel and his wife bought an 11-storey building in Melbourne, Florida, and turned it into Victoria Landing, an assisted-living facility named after their late daughter.

“Victoria Landing gets its name from Victoria Rumpel. Victoria was John’s daughter who died tragically at the young age of nineteen in a scuba diving accident,” its website states.

“John honors the memory of his daughter with the Victoria Landing name. With that honor comes the responsibility to make Victoria Landing the very best it can be… in commemoration of Victoria and in celebration of everything life can and should be. Life is simply too precious.”

Sonic boom heard over Washington is a rare sound with a rich history

03:15 , AP

People living in and around the nation’s capital on Sunday experienced a rare, if startling, sound: A sonic boom.

The boom was heard after U.S. military dispatched a fighter jet to intercept an unresponsive business plane flying over restricted airspace.

The Air Force gave the F-16 permission to fly faster than the speed of sound — something civilian aircraft rarely get to do — as the jet scrambled to catch up with the Cessna Citation. The result was a thunderous rumble that resonated across a metropolitan area that’s home to more than six million people.

Below is an explanation of what sonic booms are and their history in the U.S.

Sonic boom heard over Washington is a rare sound with a rich history

The heartbreaking reason Trump donor couple adopted daughter who died in Virginia plane crash aged 40

02:30 , Graeme Massie

A Republican donor whose family was killed when a private jet crashed after flying through restricted Washington DC airspace had previously lost a daughter in a scuba diving accident 29 years earlier.

Businessman John Rumpel, 75, told The Washington Post that his daughter, grandchild and her nanny were onboard the Cessna Citation that crashed in Virginia on Sunday.

It was in fact Mr Rumpel’s adopted daughter Adina Azarian, 49, and her two-year-old daughter Aria who were killed in the accident, reported The Daily Mail.

Azarian, a real estate agent by trade, was adopted by the family at the age of 40 because she reminded them of their late biological daughter Victoria, who had passed away at the age of 19 in 1994, the couple told the newspaper.

The two women had “the same fire in their bellies, and they were loving, caring children,” they said.

Read more:

Real estate agent killed in Virginia plane crash was adopted at 40

‘Being a mom was everything to her'

01:45 , AP

In interviews with the New York Times and Newsday, Rumpel identified his daughter, Adina Azarian, and 2-year-old granddaughter Aria, as two of the victims.

Azarian, 49, was well-known in real estate circles in New York, described by friends and relatives as a fiercely competitive entrepreneur who started her own brokerage and was raising her daughter as a single parent.

“Being a mom was everything to her,” said Tara Brivic-Looper, a close friend who grew up with Azarian. “That they were together (at the end) is fitting.”

Friends say Azarian moved to East Hampton fulltime to raise Aria, with the help of a nanny. But she made frequent trips back home, bringing both Aria and the nanny to meet her tight-knit extended family on multiple occasions in recent months.

“She seemed so happy out there,” her cousin, Andrew Azarian, recalled. “Both of their lives hadn’t even started.”

“How could this happen?” he continued. “No one can explain it.”

VIDEO: NTSB investigating deadly Va plane crash

01:00 , Gustaf Kilander

F-16 fighter jets sent from Maryland, New Jersey, and South Carolina

Wednesday 7 June 2023 00:15 , AP

The plane flew directly over the nation’s capital. According to the Pentagon, six F-16 fighter jets were deployed to intercept the plane, including two from a base in Maryland, two from New Jersey and two from South Carolina.

The plane that crashed was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc in Florida. John Rumpel, a pilot who runs the company said his family was returning to their home on Long Island, after visiting his house in North Carolina.

Last air traffic control communication attempt made when plane was at 31,000 feet (9,449 meters)

Tuesday 6 June 2023 23:30 , AP

Preliminary information indicates the last air traffic control communication attempt with the airplane was at approximately 1:28 p.m., when the plane was at 31,000 feet (9,449 meters), the NTSB said. About eight minutes later, the FAA reported the situation to the Domestic Events Network, which includes military, national security, homeland security and other law enforcement agencies.

The plane climbed to 34,000 feet (10,363 kilometers), where it remained for the rest of the flight until 3:23 p.m. when it began to descend and crashed about nine minutes later, according to the NTSB. The plane was flying at 34,000 feet (10,363 kilometers), when it flew over MacArthur Airport at 2:33 p.m., the NTSB said.

Plane that spooked Washington lost contact with air traffic control shortly after takeoff

Tuesday 6 June 2023 23:24 , Josh Marcus

A business jet whose erratic flight path near the US capital lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after taking off in Tennessee, the Associated Press reports.

The plane, which was bound for Long Island, eventually crashed into a remote Virginia mountian, but not before it caused military officials to scramble fighter jets over Washington.

Remains to be taken to medical examiner’s office for autopsy and identification

Tuesday 6 June 2023 22:45 , AP

The Virginia State Police said human remains will be brought to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy and identification. Authorities said the victims included the pilot and three passengers. There were no survivors.

The plane took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee at 1:13 p.m. Sunday, headed for MacArthur Airport in Long Island, New York. Air Traffic Control lost communication with the airplane during its ascent, according to the NTSB.

VIDEO: Virginia plane crash victim’s Florida ties

Tuesday 6 June 2023 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Hike to crash site took several hours

Tuesday 6 June 2023 21:30 , AP

On Monday, it took investigators several hours to hike into the rural area where the plane crashed about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Charlottesville. They expect to be on the scene for at least three to four days.

At a briefing Monday, NTSB investigator Adam Gerhardt said the wreckage is “highly fragmented” and investigators will examine the most delicate evidence at the site, after which the wreckage will be moved, perhaps by helicopter, to Delaware, where it can be further examined.

It was not clear if the plane had a flight data recorder. A preliminary report will be released in 10 days.

Plane took erratic flight path

Tuesday 6 June 2023 21:00 , AP

Family and friends identified two of the victims as an entrepreneur known in New York real-estate circles and her 2-year-old daughter.

Fighter jet pilots sent to intercept the business jet reported that its pilot appeared slumped over and unresponsive, three U.S. officials said Monday.

The officials had been briefed on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the military operation.

The plane took an erratic flight path — turning around over Long Island to fly directly over the nation’s capital — which prompted the military to scramble fighter jets.

This caused a sonic boom heard in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

Plane that crashed in Virginia lost contact with air traffic controllers during ascent, feds say

Tuesday 6 June 2023 20:30 , AP

Only minutes into a doomed journey that ended on a remote Virginia mountain, the pilot of a business jet was not responding to air traffic control instructions and the situation was soon reported to a network that includes military, security and law enforcement agencies, according to federal aviation officials.

Despite being out of contact on its ascent Sunday afternoon, the jet that had just taken off from a Tennessee airport continued toward its intended destination on Long Island, then turning to fly back to Virginia where it slammed into a mountain, killing the four people aboard.

Read more:

Plane that crashed in Virginia lost contact with air traffic controllers during ascent, feds say

John Kirby outlines why DC residents heard sonic boom

Tuesday 6 June 2023 20:00 , Gustaf Kilander

2021 sonic boom caused concern about earthquake

Tuesday 6 June 2023 19:30 , AP

Sonic booms are still heard in the U.S. from the nation’s military aircraft. In 2021, a sonic boom caused widespread concern that there was an earthquake on the Oregon coast.

Military officials with the 142nd Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard said a single-pilot F-15C and a two-person F-15D Eagle had inadvertently reached supersonic speeds as they flew over the Pacific Ocean.

The Concorde

Tuesday 6 June 2023 19:00 , AP

The Concorde, an Anglo-French supersonic jetliner, saw success for a number of years after making its first commercial flights in 1976. However, its ear-rattling sonic booms irritated people on the ground and led to restrictions on where the jet could fly.

In the U.S., the plane flew mainly to New York and Washington. With four jet engines and afterburners, the plane could fly at twice the speed of sound and cruised at close to 60,000 feet, far above other airliners. It promised to revolutionize long-distance travel by cutting flying time from the U.S. East Coast to Europe from eight hours to three and a half hours.

The Concorde never caught on widely. The plane’s economics were challenging, and its sonic booms led it to be banned on many overland routes. Only 20 were built; 14 of which were used for passenger service.

In 2003, British Airways and Air France both stopped Concorde service.

1960s NASA experiments found sonic booms to be 'annoying,’ ‘irritating’ and ‘startling’

Tuesday 6 June 2023 18:30 , AP

During the 1960s, NASA collected data on the effects of sonic booms on people who experienced them. Experiments showed that many described the booms as “annoying,” “irritating” and “startling,” NASA found.

In 1973, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited supersonic flights over land, “based on the expectation that such flights would cause a sonic boom to reach the ground,” the Congressional Research Service wrote.

Soviet Union became first country in 1968 to fly supersonic passenger plane

Tuesday 6 June 2023 18:15 , AP

The Soviet Union became the first country in 1968 to fly a supersonic passenger plane, the Tupolev TU-144. But a fatal crash at the 1973 Paris Air Show ended that ambition.

In 1963, the U.S. government announced a major program to develop a supersonic passenger aircraft. But serious problems soon surfaced, including massive development costs and doubts about financial viability. The program was terminated in 1971.

What is the history of supersonic travel – and booms?

Tuesday 6 June 2023 18:00 , AP

In 1947, test pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager became the first person to fly faster than sound in an orange, bullet-shaped Bell X-1 rocket plane. His exploits were told in Tom Wolfe’s book “The Right Stuff,” and in the 1983 film it inspired.

In the movie, someone on the ground asks, “What’s that sound?” as Yeager’s plane flies above and breaks the sound barrier.

Interest in supersonic flight initially focused mostly on military planes, according to the Congressional Research Service. But it grew to include supersonic civil aircraft in the 1960s.

‘The air rushing over the surfaces of the aircraft will cause a sonic boom'

Tuesday 6 June 2023 17:30 , AP

Anthony Brickhouse, an associate professor of applied aviation sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said: “The different surfaces of the aircraft are basically punching through the air. The air actually rushing over the surfaces of the aircraft will cause a sonic boom.”

“When the Space Shuttle orbiter was coming back into the Earth’s atmosphere, you would typically get to sonic booms,” Brickhouse said. “The SpaceX Dragon capsule created sonic booms.”

Brickhouse said the F-16 flying over Washington on Sunday was “probably trying to go as fast it could to catch up” with the wayward Cessna airplane.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon can fly 1,500 mph or twice the speed of sound, known as Mach 2, according to the Air Force.

What is a sonic boom?

Tuesday 6 June 2023 17:00 , AP

Sonic booms are thunderous-like noises that are heard on the ground when airplanes overhead fly faster than the speed of sound. That speed is typically about 760 mph near sea level, but can vary depending on the temperature, altitude and other conditions, according to the Congressional Research Service.

As the plane speeds through the air, the air reacts like fluid. Molecules are pushed aside with great force, “and this forms a shock wave, much like a boat creates a wake in water,” according to NASA.

“When this line of shock wave passes by, listeners on the ground hear a very loud noise,” according to an explanation from Australia’s University of New South Wales.

Jets authorised to ‘travel at supersonic speeds'

Tuesday 6 June 2023 16:30 , Graeme Massie

When the F-16 jets reached the plane at around 3.20pm ET they fired flares to try and get the pilot’s attention, according to a statement from the Continental US North American Aerospace Defense Command Region.

“The pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia,” the release said.

“NORAD attempted to establish contact with the pilot until the aircraft crashed.”

The jets were authorised by officials to “travel at supersonic speeds”, which led to a boom across the DC area.

The F-16s did not shoot down the plane, a US official told CNN.

Cessna Citation’s lone pilot seen slumped over before crash

Tuesday 6 June 2023 16:00 , Graeme Massie

When Sunday’s tragedy struck, the family had been returning home to East Hampton, New York, after a four-day trip to Mr Rumpel’s home in North Carolina, he told The New York Times.

“My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter,” Barbara Rumpel, an NRA executive, wrote in a Facebook post.

The Cessna Citation’s lone pilot was seen slumped over in his seat before it crashed in a heavily-wooded area near Waynesboro, Virginia, a source told CNN.

The flight had been travelling from east Tennessee to Long Island, New York, at 34,000 feet when it became unresponsive and triggered an interception by military fighter jets protecting the US capital.

Rumpels lost daughter in 1994 scuba diving accident

Tuesday 6 June 2023 15:30 , Graeme Massie

After the death of their first daughter, Mr Rumpel and his wife bought an 11-storey building in Melbourne, Florida, and turned it into Victoria Landing, an assisted-living facility named after their late daughter.

“Victoria Landing gets its name from Victoria Rumpel. Victoria was John’s daughter who died tragically at the young age of nineteen in a scuba diving accident,” its website states.

“John honors the memory of his daughter with the Victoria Landing name. With that honor comes the responsibility to make Victoria Landing the very best it can be… in commemoration of Victoria and in celebration of everything life can and should be. Life is simply too precious.”

Sonic boom heard over Washington is a rare sound with a rich history

Tuesday 6 June 2023 15:00 , AP

People living in and around the nation’s capital on Sunday experienced a rare, if startling, sound: A sonic boom.

The boom was heard after U.S. military dispatched a fighter jet to intercept an unresponsive business plane flying over restricted airspace.

The Air Force gave the F-16 permission to fly faster than the speed of sound — something civilian aircraft rarely get to do — as the jet scrambled to catch up with the Cessna Citation. The result was a thunderous rumble that resonated across a metropolitan area that’s home to more than six million people.

Below is an explanation of what sonic booms are and their history in the U.S.

Sonic boom heard over Washington is a rare sound with a rich history

The heartbreaking reason Trump donor couple adopted daughter who died in Virginia plane crash aged 40

Tuesday 6 June 2023 14:30 , Graeme Massie

A Republican donor whose family was killed when a private jet crashed after flying through restricted Washington DC airspace had previously lost a daughter in a scuba diving accident 29 years earlier.

Businessman John Rumpel, 75, told The Washington Post that his daughter, grandchild and her nanny were onboard the Cessna Citation that crashed in Virginia on Sunday.

It was in fact Mr Rumpel’s adopted daughter Adina Azarian, 49, and her two-year-old daughter Aria who were killed in the accident, reported The Daily Mail.

Azarian, a real estate agent by trade, was adopted by the family at the age of 40 because she reminded them of their late biological daughter Victoria, who had passed away at the age of 19 in 1994, the couple told the newspaper.

The two women had “the same fire in their bellies, and they were loving, caring children,” they said.

Read more:

Real estate agent killed in Virginia plane crash was adopted at 40

The effects of Hypoxia

Tuesday 6 June 2023 14:00 , AP

“It’s something that happens slowly. It’s almost like you’re getting groggy, and you just can’t, you can’t piece things together. And eventually, you lose consciousness,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board who is now an associate professor and director of the Aerospace Forensic Lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Brickhouse said that aircraft are often set to fly on autopilot “so if the pilot goes hypoxic or loses consciousness, that aircraft is just going to fly whatever route it was programmed to fly,” he said.

Brickhouse said it’s unclear why the plane suddenly turned around in New York and headed south again. He said it’s possible the pilot was disoriented and may have “tried to reprogram a flight computer or something like that.”

“That’s definitely something that investigators will be looking into,” Brickhouse said.

Brickhouse said it’s important not to jump to conclusions about what caused the sudden flight turnaround and the crash.

What is Hypoxia?

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:00 , AP

Hypoxia is the condition that occurs when someone’s brain is deprived of adequate oxygen. If untreated, it can be fatal.

In aviation, hypoxia can happen if a non-pressurized plane flies above 10,000 feet without supplemental oxygen or if there is a rapid decompression during a flight, or a malfunction of the oxygen or pressurization systems, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Oxygen pressure decreases as altitude increases. It’s the reason planes are pressurized and why mountaineers carry supplemental oxygen on high-altitude climbs. It’s also the reason flight attendants explain to passengers how to use oxygen masks in the unlikely event that cabin pressure is lost during a commercial flight.

Loss of oxygen in cabin may have led to Virginia plane crash, expert says

Tuesday 6 June 2023 12:00 , AP

A loss of oxygen is a leading theory for why an unresponsive business jet flew over the nation’s capital Sunday before it crashed in rural Virginia. But federal investigators are just beginning to look for answers, and an expert cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

The Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethton, Tennessee, headed for Long Island‘s MacArthur Airport. Once over Long Island, it turned around and headed south, flying a straight path over Washington, D.C. before crashing in Virginia, killing the pilot and three passengers.

Read more:

Loss of oxygen in cabin may have led to Virginia plane crash, expert says

‘The house rocked, the windows rattled ... We were obviously freaked out'

Tuesday 6 June 2023 11:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The F-16 fighter jets were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds, leading to a sonic boom above the US capital.

Chuck Martin felt the impact in Fairfax County, Virginia.

“The house rocked, the windows rattled, and it was done like that. We were obviously freaked out a little bit,” he told WJLA.

“I started calling the police. Their non-emergency line was busy forever. When I finally got through, they said, ‘Oh this DOD aircraft went supersonic, which sounded a little bit strange’,” he added.

Plane left ‘crater’ with few pieces of plane recognizable, first responders say

Tuesday 6 June 2023 10:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The plane that crashed near Raphine, Virginia left a “crater” at the crash site and likely struck the ground at a steep angle, four first responders have told CNN.

The anonymous emergency workers said there may have been about four pieces recognizable as being from the plane.

“There was nothing really bigger than your arm,” one of the responders told the network.

They also located signs of human remains.

DC stunned, a mysterious plane crash and a family ‘gone’: The story behind the weekend sonic boom

Tuesday 6 June 2023 09:00 , Joe Sommerlad

A huge sonic boom was heard over Washington DC on Sunday afternoon, startling local residents and reportedly causing houses to shake.

The thunderous sound proved to be caused by two F-16 fighter jets, travelling at supersonic speed as they were scrambled into action from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to intercept a wayward Cessna 560 Citation V private jet.

The civilian aircraft had drifted over the capital’s restricted airspace without authorisation, passing such sensitive sites as the White House and US Capitol, with the pilot unresponsive.

President Joe Biden happened to be playing golf with his brother close to the very same air base and was briefed on the incident but not removed from the scene, according to a Secret Service spokesman.

DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management moved quickly to assure Washington residents that the boom did not indicate a terrorist incident and tweeted: “There is no threat at this time.”

Read more:

DC stunned, mysterious plane crash and family ‘gone’: Story behind weekend sonic boom

Expert suggests ‘hypoxia’ incapacitated private jet pilot

Tuesday 6 June 2023 08:00 , Joe Sommerlad

An aviation expert has suggested that hypoxia may have incapacitated the pilot of the Cessna Citation that led to the crash.

Steve Ganyard told ABC News that hypoxia “occurs when there is not enough oxygen in the cabin.” He believes the Sunday crash may be another example of hypoxia incapacitating those aboard the Cessna.

“The pressure should keep enough air in the cabin to stay alert and stay awake. In this case, it can happen insidiously where you lose consciousness, you begin to feel tingling, you get a sense of euphoria and it very slowly overcomes the people in the cabin,” Mr Ganyard said.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the pilot overshot the planned destination by 315 miles before crashing in the George Washington National Forest in Virginia.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the Cessna crash, it was reported.

Pilot of the private jet was ‘unresponsive’ even as F-16s used ‘flares’ to draw attention

Tuesday 6 June 2023 07:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Officials said that the pilot of the Cessna Citation private jet that flew into Washington DC’s airspace was “unresponsive” even as the F-16 jets — authorised to travel at supersonic speeds — used flares “in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot”.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that their jets did not shoot down the plane and that it is normal to call in jets if someone is flying unsafely.

The pilot of the civilian aircraft was unresponsive as the F-16 fighter jets attempted to make contact, Continental US North American Aerospace Defense Command Region said in a statement.

Earlier, a US official told ABC News that the pilot seemed to have “passed out”.

Barbara Rumpel: ‘My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter’

Tuesday 6 June 2023 06:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Barbara Rumpel, the wife of the Florida businessman whose plane went down on Sunday, has confirmed the tragedy on Facebook, writing simply: “My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter.”

According to The Daily Mail, the bereaved family are regular donors to conservative political causes, having supported Donald Trump in the past as well as Senate candidate Herschel Walker and far-right congressional candidate Laura Loomer.

Ms Rumpel was also a co-chair of the Second Amendment Coalition for Trump-Pence in 2016 and has been on the National Rifle Association’s Women’s Leadership Council since 2002 and its executive committee for at least six years.