Aircraft that are scrambled in this way are under the control of NORAD, and another U.S. official said that NORAD was operating in support of the Federal Aviation Administration.
A flight tracking website shows the craft had made it to its initial destination, Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, but appears not to have landed — instead heading back toward the D.C. area.
A fourth source said that the White House and U.S. Capitol were put on high alert but not “red alert,” which would have triggered an evacuation.
The plane, a Cessna Citation, crashed around 3:30 p.m. ET in southwest Virginia, the FAA said in its own statement, which did not provide details on the pilot’s condition.