DC Air National Guard F-16s scrambled to investigate an aircraft that had entered a temporary flight-restricted area, resulting in a sonic boom heard throughout the DC area.
SPANGDAHLEM, GERMANY - OCTOBER 22: An F-16 jet flies on October 22, 2020 in Spangdahlem, Germany. Spangdahlem is home to a United States Air Force base whose future is uncertain following the announcement last summer by the Trump administration to reduce the number of US troops based in Germany. The U.S. Department of Defence has said it plans to move the F-16 fighter planes based at Spangdahlem to Italy, though no timetable has been announced.
The plane was intercepted at approximately 3:20 p.m. The pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna eventually crashed in mountainous terrain near the George Washington National Forest, in southwest Virginia., NORAD said.Flight tracking sites showed the jet suffered a rapid spiraling descent, dropping at one point at a rate of more than 30,000 feet per minute before crashing in the St. Mary’s Wilderness.
Virginia State Police said officers were notified of the potential crash shortly before 4 p.m. Police were still working to find the plane on Sunday evening but hadn’t been able to locate the crash site because of the mountainous terrain, police spokesperson Corinne Geller said."That's the scariest thing about private aircraft like that. How many people are in there? There's nobody else to help, one pilot. That's it," Martin said.
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