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On Sunday afternoon, a private jet plane flew into restricted airspace, over the capitol. And the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), responded. Fighter jets scrambled. And a loud sonic boom shook the region, reaching as far as the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland.

The Cessna encroached upon restricted airspace, including national landmarks. And despite the FAA’s multiple attempts to establish contact they received no reply.

NORAD is responsible for overseeing aerospace control over the United States and Canada. And it deployed two F-16 jets to intercept an errant Cessna 560 Citation V that was not responsive. 

NORAD made every effort to attract the attention of the Cessna's pilot. The military jets deployed flares that were visible from the ground. Despite these efforts, the pilot remained unresponsive.

A few minutes later the Cessna crashed in the George Washington National Forest.

Sonic Boom 

NORAD and the FAA authorities emphasize that the Cessna was not shot down. No weapons were fired. And the sonic boom was the result of the military jets speeding to address the breach of restricted airspace. 

A sonic boom occurs when an object surpasses the speed of sound, which amounts to approximately 750 miles per hour at sea level. NORAD confirmed that the military jets are authorized to travel at supersonic speeds. And their jets produced the sonic am.

The unexpected noise triggered a wave of concern, prompting Washington's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency to assure the public that there was no immediate threat.

No survivors from the crash 

First responders confirmed that there were no survivors of the crash. And the FAA communicated with the plane’s owners John and Barbara Rumpel. 

The victims included Rumpel's adult daughter, Adina, his 2-year-old granddaughter, their nanny, and the pilot. 

Rumpel is also a pilot who owns Encore Motors, a Florida-based company that owned the ill-fated aircraft. He expressed his hope that his loved ones did not suffer. And speculated that if the plane had lost pressurization, they would have peacefully drifted off to sleep before the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provided details regarding Cessna's ill-fated journey.

The aircraft departed from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, with its intended destination being Long Island's MacArthur Airport. However, inexplicably, the plane deviated from its course over New York's Long Island and charted a direct path over Washington, D.C. before its tragic descent and crash at approximately 3:30 p.m.