Sonic Boom Rattles Washington As Fighter Jets Chase Unresponsive Aircraft
NDTV
The US Capitol Complex was briefly placed on elevated alert until the airplane left the region, US Capitol Police said.
US fighter aircraft set off a sonic boom that rattled the Washington area on Sunday as it chased an unresponsive Cessna jet that had flown over the region and then later crashed in Virginia. We have confirmed with multiple official sources that the reported loud noise/explosion over parts of Maryland and the National Capital Region was the result of a sonic boom from military aircraft. There is no threat associated with this incident.
The plane, a Cessna 560 Citation V, was unresponsive when hailed by authorities as it flew over Washington and northern Virginia, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said in a statement.
The NORAD aircraft deployed to respond to the Cessna “were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region,” according to the statement.
The US Capitol Complex was briefly placed on elevated alert until the airplane left the region, US Capitol Police said. Airspace near Washington has been highly restricted since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Center.
