Global Courant
By Phil Stewart and Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US authorities scrambled fighter jets in a high-speed chase of a light plane that violated airspace in the Washington DC area and later crashed into mountainous terrain in southwestern Virginia, US officials said.
The fighter jets sent sonic booms over the US capital as they raced to overtake the Cessna Citation, which can carry between seven and 12 passengers, officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said a Cessna plane crashed into mountainous terrain in southwestern Virginia around the time the sonic boom was heard in the state capital.
A US official said the fighter jets did not cause the crash.
A source familiar with the matter said the Cessna was believed to be on autopilot and not responding to authorities. It was not immediately clear why the pilot did not respond.
While rare, incidents involving unresponsive pilots are not unprecedented. Golfer Payne Stewart died in 1999 along with four others after the plane he was on crossed thousands of miles with the pilot and passengers unresponsive. The plane eventually crashed in South Dakota with no survivors.
The sonic boom caused consternation among many residents of the capital region who took to Twitter to report hearing a loud noise that shook the ground and walls. Several residents said they heard the sound as far north as Virginia and Maryland.
(Reporting by David Lawder, Daniel Trotta, Ted Hesson, Rachael Levy, and Diane Bartz; Written by Ross Colvin; Edited by Lisa Shumaker)
Fighter jets chase a small plane in the Washington DC area
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