Air National Guard F-16s were dispatched to investigate a Long Island-bound Cessna 560 Citation V aircraft that had flown into restricted airspace in Washington, D.C. on Sunday after the pilot proved to be unresponsive; the military jets were authorized to travel as “supersonic speeds” to catch up to the wayward Cessna, causing a massive sonic boom heard throughout the nation’s capital around 3 p.m.
However, the Cessna ultimately crashed into a forest area of southwest Virginia; the pilot and three passengers were all confirmed to have not survived.
"In coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, NORAD F-16 fighter aircraft responded to an unresponsive Cessna 560 Citation V aircraft over Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia on June 4, 2023," a statement from NORAD's Continental U.S. Region said. "The pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia.”
The Cessna had originally taken off from Elizabethton, Tennessee, bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York; reports indicate that the plane had reached Long Island, but for unknown reasons veered away before landing and headed back towards D.C.
The F-16s intercepted the Cessna at approximately 3:20 p.m., but it is reported that "the pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia. NORAD attempted to establish contact until the aircraft crashed."
According to a U.S. official, it appeared that the pilot had “passed out.” The Cessna appeared to have crashed at 3:30 p.m.
The New York Times reports that the Cessna’s owner is 75-year-old John Rumpel, who relayed to the news outlet that his daughter, granddaughter, and nanny – whose names and ages have not yet been made available – were the passengers on the flight; they were in the process being flown home to East Hampton following a stay at his North Carolina home.