2023-06-05 22:27:33
Federal authorities in the United States began investigation work on Monday to find out the cause of the crash of a private plane near the country’s capital.
The aircraft, a 12-passenger business jet, crashed in rural Virginia after being intercepted by Armed Forces F-16 fighter jets.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTBS) investigators Today they went to the accident area to search for remains of the aircraft and clues that lead to the reason for the crash, according to national media reports today.
The plane, owned by the Florida company Encore Motors, took off on Sunday from an airport in Tennessee, in the south of the country, heading for Long Island, in the northeast.
However, when it was approaching its destination, in the state of New York, the aircraft turned around and headed south towards the US capital, the one he flew over before crashing near the George Washington National Forestin Virginia.
Local Virginia authorities who went to the accident area on Sunday a few hours after the crash found no survivors, the Virginia State Police reported to the Axios portal.
The owner of the company that owned the aircraft, a man identified as John Rumple, told The Washington Post that the passengers on the jet were his relatives, including his daughter, grandson and a nanny.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) explained in a statement Sunday that the F-16s used flares to get the attention of the Cessna pilot, without him responding, until his plane was intercepted around 3:20 p.m. local time (19:20 GMT).
NORAD explained that the F-16s flew “at supersonic speeds”, so it is possible that the inhabitants of the area heard “a sonic boom”; a roar that was heard in parts of the capital.
After unsuccessfully trying to get the attention of the Cessna pilot with flares, military planes intercepted the aircraft. Accordingly, the text continued, the aircraft “it crashed”.
US President Joe Biden, who was playing golf this Sunday with his brother near Joint Base Andrews, on the outskirts of the capital, in Maryland, was informed about this incident.
SIX F-16S RESPONDED TO THE AIRCRAFT
John Kirby, one of the White House spokesmen, explained this Monday at a press conference that the response was made by six F-16 planes that began their flight from three different military bases, including Andrews, near where he was Biden.
The two planes that left Andrews were the ones in a position to reach the plane that ended up crashing and were the ones that flew at supersonic speeds, the spokesman said.
While the F-16s were attempting to intercept the aircraft, White House National Security Council staff in charge of security and foreign policy were receiving information about the operation in real time, Kirby said.
NTBS investigators, who began their work on the ground today, are expected to deliver a preliminary report on the incident within three weeks.
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