The Cessna made an abrupt turn from its' planned course and went unresponsive. It overflew Washington DC at a high altitude and fighters were diverted to intercept. The plane appeared to be running on autopilot.
BRAVE A/A 340.250 "I can't see anybody in the cockpit"
Most likely a medical emergency and a dead pilot in the cockpit. The plane was allowed to continue flying until it crashed, perhaps from lack of fuel.
“I can’t see anybody in the cockpit”
Was Payne Stewart on board?
At the beginning of NCIS Season 17, Episode 12 “Flight Plan”
the order to shoot down an F-18 flying off course. Shooting down a plane is the protocol to save a populated area.
Then: A Navy pilot puts her aircraft in the sea off North Carolina. Her shipmates believe she was a victim of hypoxia but NCIS finds the corpse of her ex-lover in her quarters aboard ship indicating murder-suicide. When Kasie determines that the pilot actually ejected before her aircraft crashed the team begins a “manhunt” to track her down.
bkmk stray