The relatives of a prominent political donor from Florida were among the two deaths on board the plane that crashed in Virginia.
Residents of Washington, DC and the surrounding area were stunned by the unexpected jet crash on Sunday afternoon at around 3:20 pm when they heard a tremendous boom.
Locals heard a loud boom, which NORAD later verified was a military plane being intercepted after entering a restricted airspace.
‘During this event, the NORAD aircraft also used flares – which may have been visible to the public – in an attempt to draw attention to the pilot,’ the defense organization said.
The plane, identified by NORAD as a Cessna private jet, crashed in the George Washington Forest around 3.30pm. The Cessna’s pilot was unresponsive before the crash.
The occupants were identified as Adina Azarian, 49, as well as her 2-year-old daughter, their nanny, and the pilot, a family member confirmed to the New York Times.
That family member, John Rumpel, is the father of Azarian and grandfather of her daughter.
Rumpel and his wife, Barbara Rumpel are prominent businesspeople and Republican political donors. Barbara has served on the executive committee National Rifle Association’s Women’s Leadership Forum since 2012, according to her LinkedIn page.
Records indicate the couple gave a major donation of $250,000 to a political action committee (PAC) to support the reelection of Donald Trump in 2020.
The plane was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne, a company based in Florida and owned by the Rumpels.
Azarian and her daughter were traveling home to East Hampton, New York after visiting him in North Carolina.
The plane appeared to reach its destination in Long Island before inexplicably turning around and flying in a straight line towards Washington DC.
Rumpel said he had little knowledge of the crash, but theorized it was caused by the cabin losing pressurization.
‘It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed,’ Rumpel said.
Investigators found the aircraft’s wreckage in a crater near Montebello, Virginia, the Virginia State Police said on Monday.
None of the four occupants survived the crash.