Federal investigators are probing a Virginia plane crash after a sonic boom was heard across the DC area

• Federal safety regulators are investigating the Virginia plane crash that sparked a NORAD response.
• The military scrambled a fighter jet, causing a sonic boom, when the unresponsive plane flew near DC.

Federal investigators are probing a private plane crash in Virginia that sparked the military to scramble a fighter jet, causing a sonic boom over the Washington, DC, area on Sunday.

A private jet flying from Tennessee to New York abruptly turned around and flew over the nation's capital on Sunday afternoon.

A US official told the Washington Post that fighter jets were sent to respond to the Cessna, which wasn't responding to radio calls. The military response caused a sonic boom that rattled homes in the area.

The unresponsive private plane didn't change its path and continued over the capital before spiraling out of the air and crashing into a rural part of Virginia. Officials said they didn't find any survivors.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced Sunday night that it was investigating the crash. Their initial findings are expected to be released in about three weeks, the Washington Post reported.

According to flight data, the plane was owned by Encore Motors of Melbourne, a Florida company.

John Rumpel, a millionaire GOP and NRA donor who runs the company, told The New York Times that his daughter, granddaughter, and their nanny were on board the plane along with a pilot.

An emotional Rumpel told The Times that he hoped they didn't suffer and raised the possibility that the plane lost cabin pressure, which would have rendered them unconscious.

Federal officials haven't said what caused the crash.