Small Airplane With Unconscious Pilot Flies Into Restricted Airspace in D.C., Crashes Into Atlantic Ocean, Feds Say

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (TheBlaze/AP) — The pilot of a small airplane lost consciousness, flew into Washington, D.C.'s restricted airspace and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia coast on Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard in Portsmouth was notified about 2:40 p.m. that the single-engine Cessna failed to land in Manassas, Virginia, and continued into restricted air space in Washington, D.C., according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Nate Littlejohn.

Two Air Force F16 jets confirmed the pilot was unconscious and stayed with the plane until it eventually ran out of fuel and crashed about 50 miles southeast of Chincoteague Island, Littlejohn said. No one else was aboard the plane, he added.

The plane was heading from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Manassas, according to National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson.

A Coast Guard helicopter found no sign of the plane before heading back for refueling. A C130 airplane based out of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and an 87-foot cutter from Virginia Beach also were responding, Littlejohn said.

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