Child among 4 dead in US plane crash that sparked Washington fighter jets alert
- Cessna Citation aircraft carrying four people slammed into mountainous terrain on Sunday, 275km (170 miles) from the capital
- Fighter jets had chased the ‘unresponsive’ aircraft at high speed, triggering a sonic boom across the city and its suburbs, rattling windows for miles
US officials said on Monday there were no survivors from the Virginia crash of a small plane carrying four people, a day after the unresponsive aircraft prompted the scrambling of fighter jets from Washington.
The Cessna Citation slammed into mountainous terrain on Sunday afternoon some 275km (170 miles) southwest of the capital, according to the Federal Aviation Administration which was investigating the incident.
F-16s earlier chased the aircraft at high speed, triggering a sonic boom across Washington and its suburbs, startling residents and rattling windows and walls for miles.
Virginia State Police said in a statement sent to AFP that first responders reached the site near the town of Staunton by foot some four hours after the crash.
“No survivors were located” and the search efforts were suspended, state police said.
President Joe Biden, who was at the White House and also played golf on Sunday, was briefed on the incident, an official said, without specifying whether any emergency precautions were implemented.
