An Air National Guard F-16 was scrambled to investigate the unresponsive aircraft, which flew into a forested area of southwestern Virginia; no survivors were found.
Air National Guard F-16s sent to investigate A Cessna 560 Citation V aircraft bound for Long Island Flew into restricted airspace in Washington DC on Sunday after pilot proved unresponsive; military jets authorized to fly at “supersonic speed” to catch wayward Cessna, causing protests heard across nation’s capital around 3 p.m. huge sonic boom
However, Cessna eventually crashed into a forested area in southwestern Virginia; the pilot and three passengers were determined not to have survived.
“On June 4, 2023, in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, NORAD F-16 fighter jets responded to an unresponsive Cessna 560 Citation V aircraft over Washington, DC and Northern Virginia,” NORAD Continental US Region said a statement. “The pilot is Unresponsive The Cessna then crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia. “
The Cessna initially flew from Elizabethton, Tennessee, to MacArthur Airport on Long Island, New York; reports show The plane had reached Long Island but diverted and returned to Washington, D.C. for unknown reasons before landing
The F-16 intercepted the Cessna at approximately 3:20 p.m., but it was reported that “the pilot was Unresponsive The Cessna then crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia. NORAD tried to establish contact until the plane crashed. “
According to U.S. officials, it seems the pilot Already “passed out”.this Cessna appears to have crashed at 3:30pm
The New York Times reported John Rupel, 75, the owner of the Cessna, relayed to the news outlet that his daughter, granddaughter and nanny — whose names and ages have not been released — were passengers on the plane; They were flying back home to East Hampton after a stay at his home in North Carolina.
