Residents throughout the Washington, D.C area were startled when a loud sonic boom shook the region on Sunday. This was caused by an F-16 jet that was sent to intercept a Cessna Citation that had entered a “no-fly zone” and later crashed in Virginia.
As Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson put it, the fighter jet was “cleared supersonic to respond”, meaning it was flying faster than the speed of sound. Consequently, this speedy jet broke the sound barrier and caused the sonic boom.
“UPDATE: F-16 fighter jet from DC National Guard was “cleared supersonic to respond” to unknown Cessna ignoring radio queries flying on “strange flight path” outside nation’s capital, officials say. FAA says Cessna crashed near Staunton, Virginia.”
UPDATE: F-16 fighter jet from DC National Guard was “cleared supersonic to respond” to unknown Cessna ignoring radio queries flying on “strange flight path” outside nation’s capital, officials say. FAA says Cessna crashed near Staunton, Virginia.
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) June 4, 2023
The City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management confirmed the sound was due to an “authorized DOD flight” and had nothing to do with an “explosion”. Meanwhile, in a statement, NORAD said the F-16 jet deployed flares in an effort to contact the pilot, though it had no success.
The Federal Aviation Administration then reported that the plane eventually crashed into a mountainous area in Virginia. No information regarding the occupants onboard was made known. As the FAA put it: “The aircraft took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tenn., and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and provide all further updates.”
The post did little to soothe concerned citizens. Many of them responded by asking what exactly the government was not telling us.
Personally, I think the plane may have lost cabin pressure causing the crew and passengers to lose consciousness. That said, I wouldn’t rule anything out. I also, don’t have enough faith in this administration to tell the truth if something nefarious was afoot.
One thing is clear, the F-16 jets proved they are worth every penny. I realize the boom was frightening for residents in the area but imagine if this had been a hijacking?