Ribeirao Preto
US officials sent warplanes to pursue a plane that violated Washington airspace and then crashed in mountainous terrain in southwest Virginia.
According to an official statement, American fighter jets caused a stir in the United States capital as they attempted to reach the Cessna Citation, which can carry seven to 12 passengers.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna later crashed in a mountainous area in Virginia. A US official said US warplanes did not cause the crash.
A source familiar with the matter told Portal that the Cessna was on autopilot and had not responded to attempts to contact US authorities.
The noise made by the fighter jets in Washington terrified the population of the capital. It was reported on social media that the noise made the floor and walls shake. People in Virginia and Maryland also reported similar events.
According to the Washington Post, data from flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows the trajectory of an aircraft that matches the description of the Cessna Citation flying over Washington. Data transmission from the aircraft concerned terminates in Staunton, Virginia.
Washington’s airspace is severely restricted and protected by tight security measures due to the presence of key US institutions such as the White House, seat of the Presidency, the Capitol, seat of federal legislature, and the Pentagon, seat of the US government.
Any air accident in the American capital therefore triggers an immediate response from the security forces. That response came this Sunday by dispatching military aircraft to intercept the suspected intruder.
Incidents of unresponsive pilots, while rare, are not uncommon. In the United States, golfer Payne Stewart died along with four other people in 1999 after the plane he was on flew thousands of miles, leaving the pilot and passengers unconscious. The plane eventually crashed in the state of South Dakota with no survivors.
Another, even more serious incident occurred in Greece in 2005. A Boeing 737 operated by the Cypriot company Helios crashed into a mountain near Athens. Before the collision, which killed all 121 people on board, the plane had lost contact with the control tower, which responded by sending two F16 fighter jets to escort it. A short time later, the Greek Air Force informed the tower of Athens International Airport that the Boeing had exploded in the mountains. Subsequent investigations revealed that due to a loss of pressure in the aircraft, the entire crew was unconscious during the flight.