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No survivors in Virginia plane crash that sparked Washington alert

The incident is under investigation by both the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

AP

First responders reached the crash site but found no one alive. / Photo: AP

US officials have there were no survivors from the Virginia crash of a small plane carrying four people, a day after the unresponsive aircraft prompted the scrambling of fighter jets from Washington DC.

The jet fighters created a sonic boom over the US capital as they pursued the errant Cessna Citation, officials said on Monday, causing consternation among people in the Washington area.

The sonic boom rattled many people in the Washington area who took to Twitter to report hearing a loud noise that shook the ground and walls. Several residents said they heard the noise as far away as northern Virginia and Maryland.

"The NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) aircraft were authorised to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region," the statement said, adding that NORAD aircraft also used flares in an attempt to the pilot's attention.

The US military attempted to contact the pilot, who was unresponsive until the Cessna crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia, NORAD said in a statement.

First responders reached the crash site but found no one alive, the Virginia State Police said in a statement.