This is the moment a sonic boom created by two F-16 fighter jets shakes the homes of terrified residents before a fatal jet crash.
The US Capitol was briefly put on "elevated" standstill when a Cessna Citation private jet entered Washington DC airspace after taking off from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, and was headed for MacArthur Airport, New York.
The aircraft turned around over Long Island and flew a straight path down over Washington DC before it crashed over near Montebello.
Flight tracking sites showed the jet suffered a rapid spiralling descent, dropping more than 30,000 feet per minute before crashing in the St Mary's Wilderness.
Four people were killed in the crash including Donald Trump donors John and Barbara Rumpel's 49-year-old daughter Adina Azarian, their grandchild and the child's nanny.
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The huge boom scared residents (Irisheyez28 / Twitter)The alarming noise was heard by dozens of terrified residents and animals.
Virginia resident Kay filmed herself speaking when the sound of the boom could be overheard her.
She said: "Y'all what the hell" before sharing the footage on Twitter writing: "'I had literally just gone to record a video and the boom went off."
Another video shows the moment a scared dog runs away from the thundering noise.
A husband and wife were singing when the noise interrupted them (Travisagains / Twitter)Rocket, the dog, was lying on a sung lounger outside a family home when he quickly jumped from his seat and towards his home for safety.
Jared McQueen, who shared footage of the noise on Twitter, said: "Sonic Boom as heard by my dog Rocket in Fairfax Station. Shook the house."
A Cessna Citation crashed earlier today (Wikipedia)A third video shows a musician and his singer wife are preparing to record a song inside their home in Fairfax, Virginia, when they were interrupted by the blistering noise.
The pair quickly leap from their seats after fearing for their safety before the video immediately cuts.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, on Sunday and was headed for Long Island's MacArthur Airport.
Dozens of people reported hearing a loud 'explosion' in the Washington DC area that shook houses and caused panic (Twitter)According to Andrew Leyden: "The Flight track of an aircraft, N611VG, that flew up to the New York area before doing a U-turn and flying directly over Washington D.C.
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"At the end it descended rapidly. It is possible the sonic booms were aircraft scrambling (either DCANG who were in an exercise) or AC F-16 or both."
The private jet was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc. John Rumpel, who runs the company with wife Barbara, told the New York Times that his daughter, two-year-old granddaughter, her nanny and the pilot were aboard the plane.
The daughter and granddaughter of prominent MAGA donor John Rumpel (left, with his wife Barbara, right) were thought to have been on board the doomed plane (Facebook)They were returning to their home in East Hampton, on Long Island, after visiting his house in North Carolina, he said.
Mr Rumpel, a prominent MAGA donor, said: “It descended at 20,000 feet a minute, and nobody could survive a crash from that speed.”
In response to the Cessna Citation jet crashing, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said it authorised a F-16 jet to "travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region".
In a statement, NORAD said: "The pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia.
"NORAD attempted to establish contact with the pilot until the aircraft crashed."
The fighter jet, NORAD said, used flares "in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot" of the rogue plane.
Capitol Police confirmed the "Capitol Complex was briefly placed on an elevated alert until the airplane left the area."
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