Unresponsive Plane Crashes After Traversing Restricted DC Airspace, Sparking Fighter Jet Scramble
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Sunday afternoon, an unresponsive plane that was bound for Long Island, New York crashed after crossing through restricted Washington, D.C. airspace and sparking a fighter jet scramble.
Key Details: An F-16 fighter aircraft responded to the Cessna aircraft, causing a sonic boom and the placing of the U.S. Capitol complex on alert. The NTSB and FAA are working to determine what caused the crash that killed all four people onboard.
Key Quote: "The loud boom that was heard across the DMV area was caused by an authorized DOD flight," the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said. "This flight caused a sonic boom. That is all the information available at this time."
For Context: On March 10, 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the restricted airspace around D.C. covers a circulate area with a 30 nautical mile (or 33 statute miles) radius.
How the Media Covered it: Sources across the political spectrum covered the crash, with many noting that the fighter jets did not cause the Cessna Citation to crash.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Washington DC area 'explosion' sound caused by military jets pursuing unresponsive plane before deadly crashA loud noise similar to an explosion heard in the Washington, D.C., metroplex area was the sonic boom of military aircraft scrambling to catch up to a Cessna aircraft with an unresponsive pilot before it crashed, killing all four people onboard.
The city of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management reported that the boom heard on Sunday was in fact caused by an authorized Department of Defense (DOD) flight. The noise was heard in areas as far east as the Eastern Shore of Maryland and as far west as Manassas, Virginia.
"The loud boom that...
From the Center
No survivors from plane that crashed after flying through DCAn unresponsive pilot whose plane violated restricted airspace above the Washington, D.C. area caused the U.S. to scramble fighter jets in pursuit of the small aircraft Sunday, officials said. The pursuit caused a sonic boom heard over the capital.
The civilian aircraft later crashed into mountainous terrain in southwest Virginia, officials said. Police confirmed later Sunday night there were no survivors, but did not know how many people were on board.
“Our officials were working closely with our federal partners to monitor an unresponsive pilot who was flying an airplane...
From the Left
Long Island-bound plane crashes in Virginia after prompting military jet pursuitA small, Long Island, N.Y.-bound plane crashed Sunday into a mountainous region in Virginia after fighter jets were sent to pursue it.
The Cessna Citation was traveling to MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma from Tennessee’s Elizabethton Municipal Airport when it went down around 3:30 p.m. near Montebello, Va., the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to the Daily News.
The FAA has not released the cause of the crash, but the plane went down after violating airspace around Washington, D.C, according to reports.
The jet fighters reportedly followed the Cessna but did not cause the...
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