F-16 pilot sent to intercept plane saw its pilot slumped over before crash

The pilot of a military jet that was scrambled to intercept a private plane that flew over D.C. before crashing in rural Virginia saw that aircraft’s pilot slumped over, according to two people familiar with the situation.

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The development, described by people speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, came as National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived at the scene Monday of a private jet crash, which was linked to a sonic boom heard a day earlier across the Washington region as F-16s flew to intercept the aircraft…

Experts said publicly available flight data suggests the pilot had fallen unconscious — probably because of a loss of pressurization — and that the plane was flying on autopilot until it ran out of fuel. The Federal Aviation Administration said preliminary information shows the pilot and all three passengers died, which it said occurred “under unknown circumstances.”

The plane that crashed was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne, a Florida-based company owned by John Rumpel. He said the plane departed Elizabethton, Tenn., to carry his daughter, Adina Azarian; his 2½-year-old granddaughter, Aria; and their nanny to their home in East Hampton, N.Y. Rumpel identified the pilot as Jeff Hefner, who he said had been flying his planes “on and off” for more than five years.

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