US Fighter Jets Attempt to Intercept Plane Before it Crashed in Virginia

The crash involved a small civilian aircraft with an unresponsive pilot.

Federal officials are investigating what led to a fatal plane crash yesterday. The crash involved a small civilian aircraft with an unresponsive pilot that flew near the U.S. capitol region. The incident occurred in southwestern Virginia after fighter jets were called in to intercept the aircraft, which had four people on board. Defense officials said F-16s were “authorized to travel at supersonic speeds” as they raced to make contact with the aircraft to draw the pilot’s attention. The jets’ extraordinary speed caused a sonic boom across the Washington, DC, area and some residents reported being startled by the sound. The U.S. capitol complex was placed on “an elevated alert” when the aircraft flew near the area. The plane took off from an airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was headed for New York’s Long Island MacArthur airport. Virginia State Police have said that no surviving passengers were found at the crash site.