2023 Virginia plane crash

The plane involved in the accident was a Cessna 560 Citation V, registered N611VG to Encore Motors of Melbourne, a Florida-based company under the ownership of John and Barbara Rumpel.[1][2] It departed from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, at approximately 1:15 p.m. EDT, bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport (ICAO: KISP) in New York. According to an NTSB spokesman, fifteen minutes after takeoff, air traffic control instructed the pilot to maintain altitude at 31,000 feet (9,449 m), but he did not respond. The plane continued climbing until reaching a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet (10,363 m) and proceeded to fly on the correct bearing to land at MacArthur Airport.[1]

After reaching Long Island, the plane failed to initiate its descent on approach, instead turning around and heading in the direction of its origin. The flight continued on until it eventually entered the no-fly zone over Washington, D.C.[1] The U.S. Capitol complex was placed on "elevated alert" when the plane flew over the restricted airspace as reported by the U.S. Capitol Police.[3] NORAD deployed six F-16 fighter jets to intercept the plane.

Interception and crash

An F-16 Fighting Falcon of the 113th Wing, the unit involved in the interception

The Cessna was intercepted at approximately 3:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Two F-16 jets from the 113th Wing at Joint Base Andrews engaged in supersonic flight over the capital region,[4][5] were the first to reach the Cessna, and attempted to contact the pilot.[6] They used flares to draw the Cessna pilot's attention, although the plane's pilot was unresponsive. The flight continued on, flying past Washington, D.C., and entering the state of Virginia, until crashing at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT.[7] Tracking data from FlightAware indicated that the plane flew over Washington, D.C., at an altitude of 34,000 feet (10,363 m).[8]

The plane crashed near Montebello, Virginia, on the north face of Mine Bank Mountain at an elevation of 2,760 feet (840 m), in the vicinity of the Mine Bank Creek Trail in the George Washington National Forest.[9] Vegetation damage and crater at the site of the crash indicated fast, near-vertical descent.[2]

As of June 6, 2023, the victims have not been officially identified by the FAA or the NTSB and the accident is under investigation. The FAA confirmed four people died as a result of the crash.[2] According to unofficial reports from The New York Times, John Rumpel's daughter, granddaughter, her nanny, as well as the pilot were on board the plane during the crash.[1] In an interview, John Rumpel, who was not aboard at the time of the accident, said that the Cessna "descended at 20,000 feet a minute".[1]

First responders who were notified of the crash at 3:50 p.m. EDT reported that no survivors were found in the wreckage. CNN reported that the plane left a "crater", leading responders to believe that it impacted the ground at a very steep angle.[3] A preliminary report was released by the National Transportation Safety Board on June 21, 2023, and the investigation into the crash is ongoing as of August 2023.[10][11]

• Flight path of the plane from Plane Finder