NTSB Investigates Fatal Plane Crashes in DC, Western NY, and Virginia.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released preliminary findings on the fatal flight of a private jet that flew with an unresponsive crew for hours near four major cities and some of the world’s most restricted airspace. The Cessna Citation 560 flew solely under computer guidance for the next hour before reaching its intended destination of Long Island. With nobody at the controls to carry out a landing, the aircraft circled to the southwest and held its altitude of 34,000 feet for more than 300 miles — approaching New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore before passing directly over the nation’s capital. Two F-16 aircraft, scrambled from Joint Base Andrews to intercept the uncommunicative aircraft, were the sources of a sonic boom that startled residents in Northern Virginia, Washington and Maryland.