The United States scrambled F-16 fighter jets in a supersonic chase of a light aircraft with an unresponsive pilot that violated airspace around Washington D.C. and later crashed into the mountains of Virginia, officials said.
More Stories:
No survivors were found at the crash site, Virginia state police said.
The fighter jets created a sonic boom over the U.S. capital as they pursued the errant Cessna Citation, officials said, causing consternation among people in the Washington area.
Four people were on board the Cessna, a source familiar with the matter said. A Cessna Citation can carry seven to 12 passengers.
After several hours first responders reached the crash site but found no one alive, the Virginia State Police said in a statement.
The Cessna was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne, Florida, according to the flight-tracking website Flight Aware.
Encore owner John Rumpel told the Washington Post his daughter, a grandchild and her nanny were on board.
"We know nothing about the crash," the Post quoted Rumpel as saying. "We are talking to the FAA now," he added before ending the call.
The U.S. military attempted to contact the pilot, who was unresponsive, until the Cessna crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement.
The Cessna appeared to be flying on autopilot, another source familiar with the matter said.
"The NORAD aircraft were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region," the statement said, adding that NORAD aircraft also used flares in an attempt to get the pilot's attention.
A U.S. official said the fighters did not cause the crash.
The Cessna took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Manhattan, the FAA said in a statement, adding that it and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate.
According to Flight Aware, the plane appeared to reach the New York area, then made a nearly 180-degree turn.
The sonic boom rattled many people in the Washington area who took to Twitter to report hearing a loud noise that shook the ground and walls. Several residents said they heard the noise as far away as northern Virginia and Maryland.