A small business jet that crashed in a mountainous area in the US state of Virginia on Sunday was chased by two military fighter jets. The fate of the four occupants is not yet known, reports the American news channel CNN.
On Sunday afternoon, the plane, which would have been flying on autopilot, had violated the airspace around Washington DC. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the plane departed from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, and was bound for Long Island’s MacArthur Airport. Inexplicably, however, the plane turned over over New York’s Long Island and flew straight toward Washington DC
In response, the US authorities deployed two fighter jets to chase the device. They broke the sound barrier, causing a loud bang to be heard in the capital and surrounding states. A source at the US Department of Defense reported to AFP news agency that the pilot of the plane did not respond to repeated calls to report. The plane crashed around 3:30 p.m. over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia.
However, according to the US authorities, the crash was not caused by the fighter jets. The fate and identities of the occupants are not yet known. Rescue teams are on their way to the scene of the crash, but have not yet been able to trace the aircraft.
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