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Fighter jets from Joint Base Andrews were scrambled to intercept a private plane over Virginia on Sunday afternoon, causing a sonic boom that reverberated across the area, North American Aerospace Defense Command officials said.
The jets were responding to a Cessna that crashed later in Southwest Virginia, NORAD said in a statement issued Sunday night. F-16 jets from Andrews were scrambled, and the Cessna was unresponsive when hailed by authorities.
It is unclear why the Cessna did not respond or why it crashed later. Three people with knowledge of the event, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the military did not shoot the plane down and there is no indication that the military caused the crash. The jets used flares to try to get the Cessna pilot’s attention, NORAD said.
A total of six military jets were launched from the three locations, but only two “inspected” the Cessna, according to a spokesman for NORAD. The military was “well aware” of the situation with the Cessna at the time it flew over D.C. airspace, he said.
The jets were responding to a Cessna that crashed later in Southwest Virginia, NORAD said in a statement issued Sunday night. F-16 jets from Andrews were scrambled, and the Cessna was unresponsive when hailed by authorities.
It is unclear why the Cessna did not respond or why it crashed later. Three people with knowledge of the event, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the military did not shoot the plane down and there is no indication that the military caused the crash. The jets used flares to try to get the Cessna pilot’s attention, NORAD said.
A total of six military jets were launched from the three locations, but only two “inspected” the Cessna, according to a spokesman for NORAD. The military was “well aware” of the situation with the Cessna at the time it flew over D.C. airspace, he said.
