USA Today reported on June 5 that F-6 fighter jets moved at supersonic speed to intercept the Cessna Citation before it crashed in a forest in Virginia.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Cessna Citation crashed into mountainous terrain near rural Montebello in southwestern Virginia at about 15:30 p.m. local time. No survivors were found. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into the crash.
Searching for the plane crash on June 4. Photo: USA Today
The US congressional police force said it tracked down the Cessna Citation with its federal partners after the pilot failed to respond despite firing flares.
Six F-16 jets from three different locations took off, intercepting the Cessna Citation at about 3:15 p.m. 20-4. Police said the US Capitol Complex "was placed on high alert for a short period of time until the plane left the area".
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed that the jet caused a supersonic explosion over the Washington area at around 15:10 p.m. on June 4. This sound is coming from a plane taking off from Joint Base Andrews.
The Cessna Citation departed from Elizabethton City Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, according to the FAA. It crashed near Montebello, about 217 kilometers southeast of Washington. Flight tracking websites recorded the Cessna Citation descending rapidly in a spiral before plunging to the ground. Rescuers had to walk about 4 hours to reach the scene of the accident.
The Cessna Citation is registered at Encore Motors Company. The company's operator, John Rumpel, told The New York Times that his daughter, 2-year-old granddaughter, the girl's nanny and the pilot were on board the ill-fated plane. They were returning home to East Hampton, Long Island, after visiting John's home in North Carolina.
Mr. John - who is a pilot - thinks the plane may be depressurized.
At the time of the crash, President Joe Biden was playing golf with his brother at Joint Base Andrews when the jet took off. US Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the incident did not affect the president's activities on June 4. A White House official said the sound of the explosion was "very small" at the golf course and that Biden had been notified of the accident.
