WASHINGTON D.C. (WFLA) – Residents all over the D.C. area heard a “loud boom” Sunday afternoon, leaving many to wonder what caused the disturbance.
According to NBC4 Washington, fighter jets caused the sonic boom that was heard and felt by residents throughout the DMV area. The news outlet stated that the fighter jets were “scrambled from Joint Base Andrews to intercept a Cessna Citation that flew over the District.”
NBC4 said the Cessna took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, according to the FAA.
Sources told the station that at one point, the Cessna “turned around, began flying on a southwest path, and did not respond to air traffic control.” The aircraft then flew directly over Northwest D.C. and Virginia.
According to NBC4, a defense official confirmed to NBC News that “NORAD F-16s scrambled, began shadowing the Cessna, and saw the pilot onboard was incapacitated.”
The FAA told the outlet that the Cessna “crashed into mountainous terrain in a sparsely populated area of southwest Virginia in Nelson County.”
NBC4 said there is no indication on if the fighter jets caused the Cessna to go down. The pilot’s condition is unknown at this time and the FAA and NTSB will be investigating.
Earlier Sunday, the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management shared on its Twitter account that an authorized military flight caused the boom.
“The loud boom that was heard across the DMV area was caused by an authorized DOD flight. This flight caused a sonic boom. That is all the information available at this time,” Annapolis OEM wrote.
D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management stated that they are “aware of reports from communities throughout the National Capital Region of a loud ‘boom’ this afternoon.” Authorities reassured citizens that there was “no threat at this time.”
NBC4 Washington reported that local law enforcement agencies received calls concerning the noise. According to the news outlet, 911 centers began “getting inundated” with reports of a “loud explosion” around 3:09 p.m.
Residents in Maryland and Virginia also heard the sonic boom. On Sunday, the City of Bowie, Maryland, Twitter page released a statement that they’ve confirmed the loud boom heard in Bowie was a “sonic boom that came from a plane out of Joint Base Andrews.”