Wisconsin plane crashes into Atlantic

A small plane had taken off from the city of Waukesha in Wisconsin, Wisconsin violates District of Columbia’s airspace and then crashes into the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.

Two Air Force F-16 jets were scrambled to intercept the plane. The jets escorted the plane until it ran out of fuel and eventually crashed off the Virginia coast.  The jet pilots said that the pilot of the plane had lost consciousness while flying. Coast Guard Petty Officer Nate Littlejohn says crews are searching for the plane. 

According to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration the plane crashed Saturday at 3:17 p.m. about 50 miles southeast of Wallops Island, Virginia. Littlejohn says the Coast Guard in Portsmouth was notified about 2:40 p.m. that the plane had failed to land in Manassas, Virginia, and continued into restricted air space in Washington, D.C.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson says the plane was heading to Manassas. Littlejohn says no one else was aboard the plane. A Coast Guard helicopter that had conducted a search found no sign of the plane in the ocean.

The pilot hasn’t been identified. The plane, a Cirrus SR22T, was reportedly headed for Manassas, Virginia.