Fighter aircraft followed a Cirrus SR22 with an unconscious pilot aboard until it ran out of fuel and crashed in the Atlantic off Virginia on Saturday. The fighters were dispatched after the aircraft, on a flight plan to Manassas from Waukesha, Wisconsin, flew past its destination through restricted airspace around Washington, D.C., which attracted NORAD’s attention. Pilots of the fighters dispatched to intercept the aircraft saw that the pilot was unconscious at the controls and escorted it until it likely ran out of fuel and crashed about 50 miles off the coast near Wallops Island about 3:17 p.m. EDT. According to FlightAware, the aircraft’s IFR flight path was direct at 21,000 feet and 200 knots.
It’s not known how long the pilot was incapacitated but the flight path took the aircraft directly over Manassas before the plane went through the southwestern edge of the Washington ADIZ and then took an arc to the northeast out to sea. It turned abruptly 90 degrees to the southeast before crashing. No sign of the aircraft has been found and the pilot’s name has not been released. It was registered to Ronald Hutchinson, of Brookfield, Wisconsin.
