Sonic boom in DC: Plane that crashed lost contact with air traffic control just after takeoff

Victims named as Adina Azarian, 49, her two-year-old daughter Aria, pilot Jeff Hefner, and nanny Evadnie Smith

NTSB investigating deadly Va. plane crash

The pilot of the private Cessna Citation jet that caused a panic in Washington DC on Sunday when it passed into restricted airspace before crashing into a heavily-wooded area in Virginia was seen “slumped” in the cockpit prior to the accident.

Four people were killed in the disaster, including the adopted daughter and grandaughter of Florida businessman John Rumpel, 75, who had already lost a daughter in a scuba diving accident almost 30 years earlier.

Mr Rumpel, owner of Encore Motors of Melbourne and known as a prominent donor to conservative political causes aligned with Donald Trump, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying that his “entire family” had been on the plane when it crashed.

When the doomed flight, en route from Tennessee to MacArthur Airport in Long Island, New York, entered DC airpsace, a loud sonic boom was heard across the capital as two F-16s were scrambled to intercept the plane as it passed by sensitive sites including the White House and US Capitol.

First responders at the crash site said it had left a “crater” in rural Virginia.

Outside aviation experts speculated the pilot likely lost consciousness from a lack of oxygen inside the jet when it climbed above 10,000 feet, the altitude that typically requires cabin pressurization.

Only minutes into the doomed journey, the pilot stopped responding to air traffic control instructions prompting the alert to military, security and law enforcement agencies.

Key Points

• Sonic boom ‘explosion’ shakes Washington, DC, as fighter jets react to unresponsive plane before crash
• Pilot of private jet was ‘unresponsive’ even as F-16s used ‘flares’ to draw attention
• Police say no survivors located at Shenandoah Valley crash site
• Businessman says ‘entire family’ was on doomed private jet
• What is a sonic boom?

[6 June 2023 19:30 · AP]

2021 sonic boom caused concern about earthquake

Sonic booms are still heard in the U.S. from the nation’s military aircraft. In 2021, a sonic boom caused widespread concern that there was an earthquake on the Oregon coast.

Military officials with the 142nd Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard said a single-pilot F-15C and a two-person F-15D Eagle had inadvertently reached supersonic speeds as they flew over the Pacific Ocean.

[6 June 2023 20:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

John Kirby outlines why DC residents heard sonic boom

[6 June 2023 20:30 · AP]

Plane that crashed in Virginia lost contact with air traffic controllers during ascent, feds say

Only minutes into a doomed journey that ended on a remote Virginia mountain, the pilot of a business jet was not responding to air traffic control instructions and the situation was soon reported to a network that includes military, security and law enforcement agencies, according to federal aviation officials.

Despite being out of contact on its ascent Sunday afternoon, the jet that had just taken off from a Tennessee airport continued toward its intended destination on Long Island, then turning to fly back to Virginia where it slammed into a mountain, killing the four people aboard.

[6 June 2023 21:00 · AP]

Plane took erratic flight path

Family and friends identified two of the victims as an entrepreneur known in New York real-estate circles and her 2-year-old daughter.

Fighter jet pilots sent to intercept the business jet reported that its pilot appeared slumped over and unresponsive, three U.S. officials said Monday.

The officials had been briefed on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the military operation.

The plane took an erratic flight path — turning around over Long Island to fly directly over the nation’s capital — which prompted the military to scramble fighter jets.

This caused a sonic boom heard in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

[6 June 2023 21:30 · AP]

Hike to crash site took several hours

On Monday, it took investigators several hours to hike into the rural area where the plane crashed about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Charlottesville. They expect to be on the scene for at least three to four days.

At a briefing Monday, NTSB investigator Adam Gerhardt said the wreckage is “highly fragmented” and investigators will examine the most delicate evidence at the site, after which the wreckage will be moved, perhaps by helicopter, to Delaware, where it can be further examined.

It was not clear if the plane had a flight data recorder. A preliminary report will be released in 10 days.

[6 June 2023 22:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

VIDEO: Virginia plane crash victim’s Florida ties

[6 June 2023 22:45 · AP]

Remains to be taken to medical examiner’s office for autopsy and identification

The Virginia State Police said human remains will be brought to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy and identification. Authorities said the victims included the pilot and three passengers. There were no survivors.

The plane took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee at 1:13 p.m. Sunday, headed for MacArthur Airport in Long Island, New York. Air Traffic Control lost communication with the airplane during its ascent, according to the NTSB.

[6 June 2023 23:24 · Josh Marcus]

Plane that spooked Washington lost contact with air traffic control shortly after takeoff

A business jet whose erratic flight path near the US capital lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after taking off in Tennessee, the Associated Press reports.

The plane, which was bound for Long Island, eventually crashed into a remote Virginia mountian, but not before it caused military officials to scramble fighter jets over Washington.

[6 June 2023 23:30 · AP]

Last air traffic control communication attempt made when plane was at 31,000 feet (9,449 meters)

Preliminary information indicates the last air traffic control communication attempt with the airplane was at approximately 1:28 p.m., when the plane was at 31,000 feet (9,449 meters), the NTSB said. About eight minutes later, the FAA reported the situation to the Domestic Events Network, which includes military, national security, homeland security and other law enforcement agencies.

The plane climbed to 34,000 feet (10,363 kilometers), where it remained for the rest of the flight until 3:23 p.m. when it began to descend and crashed about nine minutes later, according to the NTSB. The plane was flying at 34,000 feet (10,363 kilometers), when it flew over MacArthur Airport at 2:33 p.m., the NTSB said.

[7 June 2023 00:15 · AP]

F-16 fighter jets sent from Maryland, New Jersey, and South Carolina

The plane flew directly over the nation’s capital. According to the Pentagon, six F-16 fighter jets were deployed to intercept the plane, including two from a base in Maryland, two from New Jersey and two from South Carolina.

The plane that crashed was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc in Florida. John Rumpel, a pilot who runs the company said his family was returning to their home on Long Island, after visiting his house in North Carolina.