Moment sonic boom shakes Washington DC: Residents are brought to terrifying standstill as F-16s chased private Cessna over no-fly zone before it crashed killing all four on board
- US military scrambled fighter jets in supersonic chase of an unresponsive plane
- The supersonic chase created a sonic boom that was heard by Virginia residents
Residents across Virginia were brought to a terrifying standstill yesterday after two F-16 fighter jets created a sonic boom as they pursued a doomed private plane that later crashed.
The unresponsive Cessna Citation private jet violated airspace around Washington D.C. on Sunday, prompting the US military to scramble the fighter jets in a supersonic chase before the light aircraft crashed into the mountains of Virginia.
Four people were killed in the crash, including Trump donors John and Barbara Rumpel’s 49-year-old daughter Adina Azarian and their grandchild.
The US military had tried to contact the pilot of the aircraft as they chased the Cessna, but they were unresponsive. The plane appeared to be flying on autopilot, officials said.
The fighter jets created a sonic boom over the capital as they chased the errant Cessna, causing consternation among people in the Washington area who had no idea what caused the sound at the time.
Residents across Virginia were brought to a terrifying standstill yesterday after two F-16 fighter jets created a sonic boom as they pursued a doomed private plane that later crashed. Pictured: Search and rescue teams head to search the crash site in Montebello on Sunday
Footage shows Virginia residents rocked by the supersonic boom, which could be heard for several miles.
The military later said the F-16s were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds, which caused a sonic boom that was heard in Washington and parts of Virginia and Maryland.
‘A sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region,’ the North American Aerospace Defense Command said, adding that NORAD aircraft also used flares in an attempt to the pilot’s attention. A U.S. official said the fighters did not cause the crash.
It 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.
Here MailOnline takes a look at footage of Virginia residents being rocked by the supersonic boom.
Video shows Virginia resident Kay filming herself speaking when the piercing sound of the sonic boom could be heard overhead.
Kay was about to speak to the camera when a large boom could be heard, prompting the resident to look around in shock. ‘Y’all what the hell,’ she says.
She later shared the footage on Twitter and wrote: ‘I had literally just gone to record a video and the boom went off.
Another video, shared on Twitter, shows a musician and his singer wife preparing to record a song together inside their home in Fairfax, Virginia, when they were rocked by the sonic boom.
The couple were seen smiling and playing the first few seconds of the song when the piercing sound of the boom struck.
The musicians can be seen quickly getting up from their seats to try and find out what had happened before the video cuts out.
Another video shows a dog lying on a sunlounger outside a family home in Fairfax station when the sonic boom could be heard overhead.
The dog, called Rocket, quickly jumps from the seat and races towards the safety of the house.
Jared McQueen shared the footage on Twitter and wrote: ‘Sonic Boom as heard by my dog Rocket in Fairfax Station. Shook the house.’
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