(USNewsBreak.com) – A sonic boom is a loud, startling noise that occurs when something travels faster than the speed of sound. If you’re not expecting it, the event can be downright jarring. Many Washington, DC, residents got to experience it firsthand on Sunday, June 4, but at the heart of it is a much sadder story.
The loud noise was the sound of two F-16 fighter jets rushing to intercept a private plane that had breached the restricted airspace around the nation’s capital. The jets “were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds,” causing the noise, per the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The pilot of the aircraft, a Cessna 560 Citation V registered to Melbourne, Florida, company Encore Motors, was unresponsive, prompting the necessary action. Onboard was the owner’s daughter, Adina Azarian, her two-year-old daughter, and a nanny.
Sadly, the plane later crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. John Rumpel, who owns Encore Motors, says the vessel went “almost straight down and at a high speed” of “20,000 feet a minute.” There were no survivors.
White House officials say the crash was not due to the jets or the military shooting the plane down. The cause is still under investigation, and the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are carrying out the probe.
Some officials speculate that the cabin may have lost pressure, causing everyone on board to pass out. The Secret Service briefed President Joe Biden, who was golfing near the area at the time, but did not take measures to remove him from the scene. Officials later said the plane posed no threat.
The sound unnerved many DC residents who had no idea what was happening. They took to social media to see if anyone knew what caused the loud noise and express their worry.
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