U.S. officials: Fighter jets scrambled to respond to aircraft that ended up crashing in Virginia

Virginia (CNN) — United States F-16 fighter jets scrambled Sunday to respond to an aircraft that ultimately crashed in southwest Virginia, according to a U.S. official.

It’s not clear if the aircraft violated restricted airspace near Washington, DC, or if there was an emergency on board, but the official added the F-16s did not shoot down the aircraft and that it is typical for the Federal Aviation Administration to call in jets if someone is flying unsafely.

The pilot of the civilian aircraft that crashed was unresponsive when the F-16 fighter jets attempted to make contact, according to a news release from the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region.

The F-16 jets were “authorized to travel at supersonic speeds,” which resulted in a sonic boom heard in the Washington, D.C., area.

The F-16s used flares “in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot,” the release added.

The civilian aircraft, a Cessna 560 Citation V, was intercepted by the NORAD jets around 3:20 p.m. and ultimately crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia.

“NORAD attempted to establish contact with the pilot until the aircraft crashed,” the release said.

Four people were on board the aircraft, which overshot its planned destination by 315 miles before crashing, sources familiar with the investigation said.

Search efforts were still underway by state and local authorities Sunday evening, Virginia State Police told CNN.

State police were notified around 3:50 p.m. of a possible aircraft crash in the Staunton/Blue Ridge Parkway region, the agency said. Nothing has been located at this time, it added.

Sonic boom heard across region

The military aircraft caused a sonic boom heard across the Washington, DC, metropolitan region.

“We are aware of reports from communities throughout the National Capital Region of a loud ‘boom’ this afternoon,” DC Homeland Security & Emergency Management said on Twitter.

There is no threat at this time, the agency added.

Earlier, the FAA said in a statement that a Cessna Citation crashed in southwest Virginia Sunday.

The aircraft took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York.

The plane crashed into a mountainous terrain in a “sparsely populated area”, according to FAA.

The City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said the sound “was caused by an authorized DOD flight. This flight caused a sonic boom.”

The U.S. Secret Service said they did not alter their posture for keeping President Joe Biden secure after the incident. Biden was golfing at the Andrews Air Force Base golf course near Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

The incident “had no impact on Secret Service,” spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a Sunday statement.